-Jasmine Dyer-

Cousins!

Comedian Dave Chappelle announced he will no longer name his former high school’s theater after himself due to backlash from the LGBTQ community on jokes in his Netflix comedy, The Closer. 

Late year Chappelle disclosed that his alma mater, Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington D.C., would be dedicating the public schools theater in his name. The dedication ceremony was scheduled to occur in November. Yet, the event was postponed due to jokes the comedian made in ‘The Closer’ that the LGBTQ community viewed as transphobic. 

Dave said he would decline the tribute on during the dedication ceremony, and the venue would be renamed the Theater for Artistic Freedom and Expression instead, according to the Washington Post. Chappelle also expressed that the criticism he received from the comedy special “sincerely” hurt him. Dave chose to decline to avoid distracting students from focusing on their art. However, he feels the comments against him were unrelated to his work. 

According to Vanity Fair, Chappelle visited his former high school in November of 2021 and endured a tough Q&A session with the student body. Many attending students criticized Chappelle for his jokes about transgender women. Students booed and cheered for the comedian; one 16-year-old student called Dave “a bigot” and “childish.” Chappelle responded to the student body by saying, “I’m better than every instrumentalist, artist—no matter what art you do in this school, right now I’m better than all of you. I’m sure that will change. I’m sure you’ll be household names soon.”