It’s hard to know what Dave Chappelle expected when he made a surprise visit to his alma mater, the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C. That he had a documentary film crew with him, as reported by Politico, suggests he felt the assembled 580 students would greet him with unbridled enthusiasm. This was not the case.
The Ellington visit, which happened on Tuesday, began with a mix of “cheers and some boos,” according to Politico. It also included a Q&A session that got testy.
One student called Chappelle “a bigot” and added, “I’m 16, and I think you’re childish, you handled it like a child.”
Chappelle can safely be called the central figure in an increasingly robust debate over the line between comedy and decency in the wake of his recent Netflix special The Closer. Sections of the 72-minute concert film have been denounced by many as transphobic, homophobic, antisemitic, anti-Asian, and just plain whiney about “cancel culture.” Netflix’s move to circle the wagons around the comedian led to a walkout by employees in late October.
Chappelle reportedly responded to the 16-year-old by saying, “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.” To a follow-up question described as “antagonistic,” the comic said, “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.”
Without audio or video, it’s hard to know whether that last sentence was intended to come off as sincere. Politico’s report said that students, some of whom participated in interviews with the news outlet, had to lock their phones in pouches to attend the assembly. (This is not an uncommon move for Chappelle.)
When someone in the crowd called out, “your comedy kills,” Chappelle is said to have responded, “[N-word]s are killed every day.”
Some students and parents were upset by the school’s decision to host Chappelle. One father, who declined to give his name, said, “he was being dead serious and using the n-word on the record. What kind of judgment is the school showing to allow that?”
Chappelle’s spokesperson Carla Sims told Politico that he anticipated the students would greet him with forgiveness, but they failed to meet his expectations. She also said that Chappelle wanted to “give them some space to grow” and that “they are going to say things that are immature.”
Chappelle’s visit was a bit of a surprise because it was originally supposed to be part of a fundraiser. The fundraising aspect was postponed following the threat of a student walkout. Furthermore, the fundraiser was supposed to correspond with a ceremony that renamed the school’s theater for Chappelle. Earlier this month, the school said that renaming the theater “without first addressing questions and concerns from members of the Ellington community, would be a missed opportunity for a teachable moment.” They also referred to Chappelle as their “most distinguished alumni” and a “great thought leader” who had raised millions in funding.
Other distinguished alumni of the Duke Ellington School include Me’Shell Ndegéocello, Denyce Graves, and the late Wallace Roney.
Students at the assembly were given tickets to a one-night screening of Dave Chappelle: Live In Real Life, a documentary directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, the Oscar-winning duo behind American Factory. The trio previously worked together on 8:46, a widely-celebrated short piece released after the killing of George Floyd. In a recent video, Chappelle said that the new documentary is being shunned by film festivals and distributors due to his recent controversy.
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