<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1655777669364,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"0000017d-fe9d-da96-ad7d-ffbf8a5c0000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1655777669364,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"0000017d-fe9d-da96-ad7d-ffbf8a5c0000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_55738156", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"1036619"} }); ","_id":"00000181-840a-d789-a3f7-9d6e278b0000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video EmbedDave Chappelle defied expectations during a dedication event Monday by announcing that a theater set to be named after him at a school in Washington, D.C., will not bear his name after all.
A theater at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts will not be named the “Dave Chappelle Theatre” as was planned. Instead, it will be called the “Theater for Artistic Freedom & Expression,” Chappelle told the crowd, citing recent criticism from students surrounding his Netflix special Closer, according to FOX 5.
DAVE CHAPPELLE ATTACKED ONSTAGE DURING LOS ANGELES PERFORMANCE
Chappelle, who graduated from the school in 1991, said he had made the decision Friday after considering the backlash he has received from current students over the Netflix special, which he hailed a “masterpiece.”
Activists and social media users have called on Netflix to take it off the streaming service for jokes Chappelle made about the transgender community.
Chappelle returned to his alma mater last November to discuss his special, where a Q&A session with students got somewhat tumultuous. At one point, a student shouted, “Your comedy kills,” as reported by Politico.
“These kids don’t understand that they were instruments of artistic oppression,” Chappelle said at the event Monday. “The more you say I can’t say something, the more urgent it is for me to say it.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Fliers for Monday night’s event circulated as recently as Sunday indicated that the theater would be named after Chappelle.
“On June 20, DESA will name the performance arts theatre at Ellington after one of its most noted alumni — comedian and actor Dave Chappelle. The event will include an unveiling, theater dedication, and a production filled with surprises for Dave and the audience. The naming comes in appreciation for his ongoing commitment and service to the school and advocacy for the arts,” a website for the renamed theater reads.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Duke Ellington School of the Arts for comment.
