Dave Chappelle, reportedly visiting his high school to address students days before Thanksgiving, encountered mixed responses from students.
On Tuesday, Chappelle stopped by D.C.’s Duke Ellington School of the Arts to take part in a Q&A session with staff and 580 students, Politico. He also distributed 600 Thanksgiving meals to the recipients and tickets to see his new film. “Untitled” — a documentary about putting on a live comedy show while grappling with the pandemic and the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder.
According to the website Chappelle arrived in a crew of cameras and was greeted upon his arrival. “a raucous reception of cheers and some boos.”To prevent illegal recordings, Chappelle asked that all attendees keep their phones in magnetic pouches.
Chappelle was directly questioned by eight students, including a 16 year-old student who called Chappelle a “bigot”They said: “I’m 16 and I think you’re childish, you handled it like a child.”
Two students relayed the conversation on Politico the next day. Chappelle replied: “My friend, with all due respect, I don’t believe you could make one of the decisions I have to make on a given day.”
Some parents, meanwhile, were unhappy that Chappelle had used the N-word during his Q&A. He was shocked when a student shared their story with him “Your comedy kills,”Chappelle responded with the N word, saying: “[redacted] are killed every day.” The comedian’s spokesperson, Carla Sims, told Politico: “They are complaining that he talked and said the N-word. If anything, Dave is putting the school on the map.”
Another question was answered by Politico, but it did not respond verbatim to. “antagonistic,”Chappelle explained to students at the performing arts school: “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.”
Politico also reported that the two students it had spoken to said that Chappelle responded to the students’ questions with jokes or laughter. When one pupil left the Q&A early, Chappelle said: “Of course she left early.”Sims allegedly told the website that Sims had spoken to the student who had fled the room “couldn’t even entertain the idea of a conversation.”It is unknown if the student involved had spoken with Chappelle before she left.
Despite being criticised, Chappelle seemed to have no ill will towards the students. He even turned to the camera at one point to condemn the death threats against the students who had protested. “His whole tone changed,”One student spoke to Politico. “He said, ‘This is my family and whether they know it or not I love these kids. I don’t want to hear about any threats to these kids. These kids don’t deserve that.’”
“He was really kind. If [only] he [had] acted that way the whole time … There was no reason to be mean to us. He was just laughing at kids.”
Savannah Overton spoke on behalf of the school and said that the comedian was supported by most of them. “During the conversation with students and staff, Chappelle specifically invited the voices of discontent to ask questions; however, as a result, the supporters of Chappelle became the silent majority,”Overton said so to Politico “Our principal was approached by several students after the assembly who were disappointed that they were not able to voice their support for Chappelle in this forum.”
Chappelle has long been one of the school’s most prolific donors and supporters, donating millions of dollars to the establishment. The school stated that Chappelle had hosted numerous high-profile performances for pupils, donated memorabilia, including an Emmy Award, delivered commencement speeches, and hosted masterclasses where he invited artists like Common, Erykah badu, Common, and Chris Tucker.
On the day of Chappelle’s Q&A this week, the school had initially planned to name one of its theaters after the comedian. This has been postponed until April 2022 due to his controversial Netflix special “The Closer,”Instead, the school said that it would take time to address the issue “questions and concerns from members of the Ellington community”In the hope of changing the situation into something positive “teachable moment.”
Variety has contacted Chappelle’s representatives for comment.