‘Canceled’ Comic Dave Chappelle Booked Two Nights at Madison Square Garden

Dave Chappelle will fight woke oppression in the same manner as many of comedy’s most canceled artists have done so before him – with a stadium tour.

Early this morning, TODAY announced Chappelle’s upcoming tour, simply called “Dave Chappelle Live,” which will run from August 22nd to October 3rd, starting with back-to-back shows at the famed Madison Square Garden in New York before moving through the Midwest’s many NBA arenas and convention centers. Back in January, Chappelle’s friend Louis C.K. sold out Manhattan’s most prestigious venue, and, with two opportunities to perform on the Knicks’ home court, Chappelle seems like a shoe-in to do the same. 

One year ago, transgender activists and allies petitioned for a Minneapolis theater to cancel a planned appearance from Chappelle, forcing the star comic to relocate to a different venue down the street. When protestors greeted Chappelle and his fans with picket signs, Chappelle called his audience’s decision to attend the set a “huge act of defiance.” If the roughly 20,000 Chappelle fans scheduled to flood into Midtown Manhattan next month are met with any sort of civil resistance, I’d imagine the show will be something roughly like the opening of The Warriors. “Can you dig it?”