DC mayor has no plans to rescind Dave Chappelle’s ‘Key to the City’ honor

DC mayor has no plans to rescind Dave Chappelle's 'Key to the City' honor
Dave Chappelle (Photo credit: Bang Media)

Dave Chappelle continues to kick “cancel culture” up and down the street and draws more support after several groups within LGBTQ community have criticized his latest Netflix comedy special The Closer calling it offensive and requesting it be pulled from the streamer.


Netflix has defended Chappelle’s latest stand-up and fellow comedian Damon Wayans even sated that the D.C. bred comedian “freed comedians from slavery.” The 48-year-old comedian, who has called Ohio his home for many years now, is also a proud product of Washington D.C. and was granted a key to the city several years back. During a recent press conference, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser was asked if she had any plans of rescinding the honor and she quickly put that theory to bed.


“I haven’t considered rescinding the key to the city, and I regard Dave as a friend and as an artist who is a genius. Dave has been having this conversation with the trans community for a long time. But you would be, and I don’t think you would understand the whole show, I’m not sure you’ve seen it if you didn’t also understand some of his other commentary about race. Some very special native Washingtonians have dedicated their lives to making Washington, D.C. better, and they’ve gone above and beyond to show others what makes the nation’s capital the best city in the world. Dave Chappelle reminds us what it means to live a life filled with purpose, meaning and laughter,” Bowser said of the comedian.

In 2017, Bowser awarded Chappelle – a Duke Ellington High School alum – a key to the city. Last week, D.C. public schools announced they’re also naming the stage at Duke Ellington High School after Chappelle. Mayor Bowser also stated that she wants to make sure D.C. is a city that does not accept transphobia and she explained that many people from the LGBTQ are missing the message in Chappelle’s comedy.


“I think we should all be united, and I think Dave would be too in making sure we’re a city that doesn’t accept trans-phobia or trans-phobic violence and that is our deep concern in Washington, violence against trans-people,” she added during the press conference.

Take a look at Mayor Bowser discussing Dave Chappelle below.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSLyukyRKJ8[/embedyt]

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