Dave Chappelle On Meeting Trans Activists: They Wanted To Incite ‘Violence Against Themselves For Publicity’

Dave Chappelle, the legendary comedian, has criticized transgender activists in a podcast episode. This was after a protest they staged at an event last year.

Chappelle made these remarks about his. “The Midnight Miracle” Podcast with Talib Kweli & Yasiin Bety, co-hosts

“I guess apparently they had made a pledge to the public at large that they would make their club a safe space for all people, and that they would ban anything they deemed transphobic,” Chappelle said. “This is a wild stance for an artistic venue to take, especially one that’s historically a punk rock venue.”

Chappelle then described the events at the Varsity Theater, Minneapolis, which he had switched to after the cancellation of his show at the previous venue.

“These were grown people of various genders and gender identities,” Chappelle said. “They threw eggs. They threw eggs at the [fans] who were lined up to see the show.”

“One lady was so mad with the protesters, she picked up a police barricade,” Chappelle continued. “You ever seen one? They look like a bike rack. This b**** picked that barricade up by herself and threw it at the crowd. I gotta tell you, it’s an amazing feat of strength for a woman.”

Chappelle claimed that everyone in the theater was extremely happy to have him there “because suddenly going to see a comedy show was this huge act of defiance.”

“I don’t think anyone had any malicious intent. In fact, one of the things that these people, the trans and their surrogates, always say is that my jokes are somehow gonna be the root cause of some impending violence that they feel like is inevitable for my jokes,” He went on. “But I gotta tell you, as abrasive as they were, the way they were protesting, throwing eggs at people, throwing barricades, cussing and screaming, [none of my fans] beat ‘em up. In fact, the people in the crowd would just say, ‘We love you. Like what are you talking about?’”

Chappelle stated that the majority felt like Chappelle when he talked to transgender protesters. “just sticking to the playbook: we’re here to stir s*** up.”

“I feel like they wanted me to say something inflammatory … in a weird way, I think some of them had the intention of inciting violence against themselves for publicity,” Chappelle said. “Like they were doing things that a regular n*****, I’m telling you, would knock one of these people out.”

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