6/25/22

Duke Ellington School of Arts will not be named after David Chappelle

(L) David Chappell  (R) Daphne Dorman 

The Duke Ellington School of Arts, David Chappelle's alma mater will not be renamed after the transphobic comedian we learned on Monday.

Chappelle earned a place in infamy by launching into a transphobic tirade posthumously bashing transgender woman Daphne Dorman, his former prodigy who took her own life just days after NetFlix "Closer" aired.

Students protested the proposed name change and forced postponment of the renaming in November.

Chappelle, who self-identifies as a "TERF" in solidarity with Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling said on Monday that he was "hurt" by the student's rejection.

Chappelle stated that he refused to allow his artistic freedom and expression to be a victim of "cancel culture," a catch phrase used by neo-nazies as a pejorative to denigrate transgender "woke" resistance.

The theater at the school was renamed the "Theater of Artistic Freedom & Expression" on Monday amid a kickoff of a million-dollar fundraising campaign championed by Chappelle.

No comments: