Dave Chappelle Visited His Old High School, And It Was Kind Of A Mess

Dave Chappelle hasn’t been having the best time lately, PR-wise. You know, because of his poorly-received hot takes about trans people from his Netflix special The Closer. Also in The Closer, Dave noted that he doesn’t “give a shit” about all the voices trying to get him canceled on Twitter, because “Twitter isn’t a real place.” So what does Dave do when he wants to connect with the people and Twitter is out of the question? He swings by his old high school and shoots the shit with the youth of today. Except as Dave found out, some of the youth don’t much care for his jokes either. Not everyone was thrilled with Dave’s visit, which apparently only triggered Dave more.

Variety reports that Dave decided to make an appearance at his alma mater, Washington D.C.’s Duke Ellington School of the Arts, on the day before Thanksgiving. Dave was there to host a Q&A with about 580 students and hand out 600 Thanksgiving meals and tickets to a screening of his comedy documentary, “Untitled,” all of which was documented by a camera crew that accompanied Dave inside the school. So, prepare to see this story come to life very soon in an upcoming Netflix special! Dave was met with cheers, but also many boos, because…well, you know. Eight students reportedly confronted Dave about the comments he’s made and the subsequent criticism of his material, with one reportedly telling him he’s been acting like the kind of restaurant patron that requires a booster seat and the special menu with chicken fingers on it. And naturally, in very true Dave Chappelle fashion, he handled that comment with the thoughtfulness, compassion, and self-aware introspection we know him to give. Just kidding, he dragged literal teenagers. via Variety:

Eight students are understood to have questioned Chappelle directly, among them a 16-year-old who called Chappelle a “bigot” and said: “I’m 16 and I think you’re childish, you handled it like a child.”

According to two students who relayed the conversation to Politico the following day, Chappelle responded: “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.”

When a student told him “Your comedy kills,” Chappelle responded using the N-word, saying: “[redacted] are killed every day.”

It’s true though. Imagine trying to decide what you’re going to wear to the maskless hang out at Joe Rogan’s house? Is it the jumpsuit with your last name embroidered on it, or the t-shirt with your logo on it? And no, “Not hanging out with Joe Rogen” isn’t an option. That question is far too tough for a child that might not have even been born when Dave was shouting, “I’m Rick James, bitch!” on Chappelle’s Show. When he wasn’t insulting kids’ opinions, he was…well, insulting kids’ talent by telling them that they aren’t shit compared to him.

In response to another question, which Politico did not report verbatim but claimed was “antagonistic,” Chappelle told the performing arts school students: “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.”

Regarding the use of the N-word, Variety says a bunch of parents weren’t thrilled that Dave used it. Dave’s spokesperson Carla Sims addressed his choice of language, and she essentially says that Duke Ellington School of the Arts should be grateful Dave was calling out children and saying the N-word at their school:

“They are complaining that he talked and said the N-word. If anything, Dave is putting the school on the map.”

Sometimes Dave wasn’t even responding to questions. Variety says that several people in attendance noted that several times, Dave was asked a question, and he just laughed it off or made a joke about it, and moved on to the next one. And in case you needed a reminder about how fragile Dave Chappelle’s ego probably is…

When one pupil left the Q&A early, Chappelle said: “Of course she left early.” Sims apparently told the website that the student who had left the room “couldn’t even entertain the idea of a conversation.” It is unclear whether the student in question had been in conversation with Chappelle before her exit.

After that student left, Dave must have realized he was about to have another PR nightmare on his hands, and did some preemptive damage control. via Politico:

“His whole tone changed,” one of the students told 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.”

Again, all of this took place on the day before Thanksgiving. Somebody should have told Dave that having a grumpy middle-aged dude smugly brushing off criticism and loudly complaining about how kids these days are too sensitive before giving a weak apology is really more of a Thanksgiving Day, dinner-with-your-least-favorite-uncle, sort of thing.

Pic: Wenn.com