Dave Chappelle's High School will Ignore Cancel Mob No Matter Outcome of His Renaming Fundraising Contest

Actor-comedian Dave Chappelle won another small battle with his woke detractors after his former high school announced it would rename its theater after him despite the backlash.

Washington D.C.’s Duke Ellington School of the Arts announced that it is going through with naming one of its theaters after Chapelle, one of its most famous alums.

The school had initially announced that it was postponing its naming ceremony after woke students and transgender activists began attacking Chappelle for being “transphobic” for jokes he made in his Netflix special, The Closer.

“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 right and dignity of all of its members,” the school said in a Nov. 13 statement.

After the school’s announcement showing its reticence over renaming the theater after Chappelle, the comedian said he would help sponsor a contest to hel the school decide if t would go through with the naming.

Still, despite Chappelle’s offer to help the school make a decision free of leftist pressure, the school said on Monday that the contest was not necessary.

“While we appreciate Dave’s impromptu and spirited fundraising initiative, we stand behind our decision to honor the wishes of our co-founder, the late Peggy Cooper Cafritz, to name the theatre after Chappelle,” the school’s statement said, according to the Hollywood Review.

“All donations will go towards arts programming and every donor, irrespective of their support or opposition to the theater naming, will receive an official thank you from our team.”

“Chappelle cares deeply about Ellington and its students and regards them as family,” the school continued. “He made an unannounced visit before the Thanksgiving break to meet with his Ellington family and to hear directly from the few students who have concerns about his recent comedy special, The Closer. He also wanted to directly express support for their safety in light of some disturbing online comments targeting the Ellington community.”

Finally, the school scolded the media for pushing fake news on the whole incident.

“While there has been extensive media coverage about the theatre naming and Chappelle’s most recent visit to the school, the source stories that have gone viral have been inaccurate, devoid of context, and neglected to include the nuances of art,” the school said.

“As an art institution, we educate our students on the importance of media literacy and art as a free and open form of expression to both reflect and challenge society. Although it appears that the clear majority of students at Ellington favor naming the theater for Dave Chappelle, we are seizing this moment to demonstrate the importance of carefully listening to every voice within our diverse and inclusive community,” the statement concluded.

For his part, Chappelle has flatly refused to bend over for the woke mobs. After trans activists demanded that Netflix cancel him from the streaming service, Chappelle told the mob that he’d be happy to meet with them to discuss the issues, but only on his terms. He also told the media that he won’t speak to them until they “admit” that the trans activist comedian who attacked him just “isn’t funny.”

Just last week, Chappelle also said that he won’t apologize to the woke students who have called him a “bigot” and accused him of helping haters “kill” trans people.

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