Dave Chappelle’s Netflix special, “The Closer.” (Screenshot via YouTube)
WASHINGTON | D.C.’s Duke Ellington School of the Arts announced Nov. 12 that it has postponed for five months its plan to rename its theater after comedian Dave Chappelle, a graduate of the acclaimed performing arts high school, following complaints about his comments about LGBTQ people, particularly transgender people, in a Netflix special program.
The school initially said it would hold a ceremony to rename the theater after Chappelle, one of its most famous alumni, on Nov. 23. In a statement, the school said it would go ahead with the renaming at a ceremony rescheduled for April 22, 2022.
In the statement, the school said Chappelle’s Netflix stand-up special, “The Closer,” “contains controversial material juxtaposing discrimination against Black Americans with that against non-Black members of the LGBTQ+ community.”
The statement adds that holding the event this month “without first addressing questions and concerns from members of the Ellington community would be a missed opportunity for a teachable moment.”
The Washington Post reports that LGBTQ organizations, Netflix employees and some Duke Ellington students, including LGBTQ students, have criticized Chappelle’s comments about LGBTQ people in his Netflix special “The Closer.”
“We have engaged in listening sessions with our students and have allowed space for diverse viewpoints,” the statement released by the school says. “We are committed to fostering a community where every individual feels both heard and supported.
“We recognize that not everyone will accept or welcome a particular artist’s point of view, product or craft, but reject the notion that a ‘cancel culture’ is a healthy or constructive means to teach our students how society should balance creative freedom with protecting the rights and dignity of all its members.”
