Confident, charismatic and controversial, the enigmatic US comic Dave Chappelle will perform in Dublin this Autumn.
The acerbic wit of Chappelle will come to the 3Arena on September 14th while tickets go on sale on Friday morning at 9am from ticketmaster.ie.
Chappelle was awarded the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American ‘Humor’ from the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in 2019.
Chappelle’s work in stand-up, writing, producing, and acting has earned him more than 30 nominations and awards in television and film for projects including his ground-breaking sketch comedy television series, Chappelle’s Show, guest appearances on Saturday Night Live, and his comedy specials, most recently earning his fifth Emmy Awards in 2021.
Chappelle won the Grammy for Best Comedy Album three years in a row from 2018 to 2020.
However controversy has followed Chappelle who had a live show cancelled at the last minute due to controversy over some of his material.
The First Avenue venue in Minnesota apologised for booking him and said the show would move to another theatre.
Chappelle’s live shows and TV specials, and the platforms hosting them, regularly attract criticism due to comments he’s made in previous routines which some viewers find offensive.
In a statement posted on Instagram, First Avenue said: “To staff, artists, and our community, we hear you and we are sorry. We know we must hold ourselves to the highest standards, and we know we let you down.
“We are not just a black box with people in it, and we understand that First Ave is not just a room, but meaningful beyond our walls.
“The First Avenue team and you have worked hard to make our venues the safest spaces in the country, and we will continue with that mission.
“We believe in diverse voices and the freedom of artistic expression, but in honouring that, we lost sight of the impact this would have.
Netflix have stood by Chappelle, telling staff that “not everyone will like or agree with everything on our service.”
A Netflix special, The Closer, saw Chappelle tell the audience: “Gender is a fact. Every human being in this room, every human being on Earth, had to pass through the legs of a woman to be on Earth. This is a fact.”
He previously described trans people as “confusing” in another Netflix special, Sticks and Stones.
Netflix told its staff who complained or protested about his material being hosted on the service that they could consider leaving if they do not support artistic freedom.
“Not everyone will like – or agree with – everything on our service,” the company said in a memo to employees. “If you’d find it hard to support our content breadth, Netflix may not be the best place for you.”
Earlier this year, a man was charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon after Chappelle was attacked on stage during a show in Los Angeles. Chappelle was unharmed.
