Dave Chappelle Declines to Have High School’s Theater Named After Him
American comedian, Dave Chappelle has revealed that he declined to have a theater at his Washington, D.C. high school named after him amid controversy over jokes about transgender people in his latest stand-up show.
According to reports, the Duke Ellington School of the Arts had planned a dedication ceremony to honour Chappelle and his “ongoing commitment and service to the school and advocacy for the arts.”
As a result of Chappelle declining the offer, the building will instead be named the Theater for Artistic Freedom and Expression.
Chappelle, who attended the ceremony, said he was “sincerely hurt” by backlash from students to his controversial Netflix special “The Closer” when he visited his alma mater in November.
“I took a lot of cold shots in business… but that day, they hurt me,” Chappelle told those gathered, according to USA Today.
