John Mulaney is currently on his From Scratch comedy tour in America. He was workshopping material last year, and his comedy now seems to be about his relapse and recovery in recent years. On Friday, he was in Ohio, at Ohio State University’s Value City Arena. The audience was surprised when Ohio resident Dave Chappelle “opened” for Mulaney. Chappelle apparently did a short set, then introduced Mulaney. The two men hugged and Mulaney did his set. Of course there was a problem. That problem? Chappelle’s whole thing these days is that he’s transphobic and he believes the transgender community should be bullied, criticized and made fun of. Guess what Chappelle’s jokes were about on Friday?
During a Friday performance on his “From Scratch” tour, comedian John Mulaney surprised his audience — and drew criticism from some fans — when Dave Chappelle appeared as the opener and told what were described as “transphobic jokes.”
Chappelle’s opening set occurred during a show at Ohio State University’s Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Although there is no footage from the event, as attendees were required to lock their phones up beforehand, several audience members took to social media afterwards to criticize the show. According to attendees, Chappelle appeared as a surprise opener, and told jokes targeting the transgender community. Mulaney reportedly came onstage and hugged Chappelle at the conclusion of the opening set.
People who paid for tickets to Mulaney’s show were really upset. I would be too – if you’re paying for tickets to John Mulaney’s show, you have some general idea about what you’re going to get, comedy-wise. He’s not going to get crazy-political, he’s not going to punch down on marginalized people, he’s going to joke about his own life and his own struggles for the most part. And then Chappelle comes out and, much like JK Rowling, finds it profitable and “cool” to be a transphobic a–hole. Also: Mulaney is younger than Chappelle and Mulaney has much younger fans. The younger people think Chappelle is just some ancient bigot. Nevermind the fact that Mulaney has a huge number of LGBTQ fans too. So both men are getting hammered, justifiably.
Pretty disappointed in John Mulaney, saw him tonight and yeah, he was funny, but he gave Dave Chapelle the platform to make some transphobic jokes. Also very disheartening to hear a crowd of 12,000 around you (a trans person) laughing at transphobic jokes. Thanks Columbus.
— Libby (@libbeefy) May 21, 2022
my favorite part of tonight was when dave chappelle ambushed us at the john mulaney show, told a bunch of transphobic jokes, a massive stadium of people laughed, and then john mulaney hugged him at the end
— rylan ☻ (@testosteronejew) May 21, 2022
the john mulaney thing happened in Ohio one day after the Ohio government debated HB454, which would forcibly detransition all trans youth, with discussion of detransitioning adults as well.
— the selah system 🇵🇸☭ (@sintonal) May 21, 2022
okay so tell me why I just went to the John Mulaney show and Dave Chappelle was a surprise opener and made not only a transphobic joke but a homophobic one
— maddie (@boobeoisie) May 21, 2022
y’all ever hear ~12,000 people laugh at a transphobic joke, while you’re a trans person in the audience who didn’t know the transphobic comedian would make a surprise appearance at the John Mulaney show? yeah. wasn’t fun. fuck you D.C.
— rae (spookiest version) (@raegan_givant) May 21, 2022
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instar.
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- Dave Chappelle wearing denim on denim with plenty of holes and carrying a pack of smokes as he arrives for his performance at The Hollywood Palladium. Los Angeles, California – Friday December 29, 2017. Photograph: © MHD, PacificCoastNews. Los Angeles Office (PCN): +1 310.822.0419 UK Office (Avalon): +44 (0) 20 7421 6000,Image: 520893448, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – DIRECT SALES ONLY – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: MHD, PacificCoastNews / Avalon
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- Opening night for Jacqueline Novak: Get On Your Knees at the Cherry Lane Theatre – Arrivals. Featuring: John Mulaney Where: New York, New York, United States When: 22 Jul 2019 **ONLY AVAILABLE FOR SPAIN & USA**,Image: 536716745, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: SPAIN, PORTUGAL, S AMERICA ONLY – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: WENN / Wenn / Avalon
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- Opening night for Sea Wall / A Life at the Hudson Theatre – Arrivals. Featuring: John Mulaney Where: New York, New York, United States When: 09 Aug 2019 **ONLY AVAILABLE FOR SPAIN & USA**,Image: 536850016, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289 – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: JM11 / Xavier Collin / Avalon
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- John Mulaney at the 2014 FOX Summer TCA All Star Party, Soho House, West Hollywood, CA 07-20-14,Image: 553485448, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Photoshot – sales@photoshot.com London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Florida: +1 239 689 1883 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Martin Sloan / Avalon
A friend made me watch Dave Chappelle. I literally cannot remember any of it.
I liked Mulaney and Chappelle at one time.
Then they showed who they are and changed their acts to reflect that. They stopped being creative, believed their own hype and started thinking everyone thinks like them.
No way JM comes out condemning Chappelle.
Guess Mulaney’s next “surprise openers” might be Louis CK or Aziz Ansari, joking about the bitches who wouldn’t let them exercise their sexual “power.” Mulaney’s tour should have a subtitle: Apologia for the Men Even Worse Than I Am.
I’d be absolutely livid. It’s one thing if you go to a show fully expecting Chapelle. You know what to expect at that point. It’s an entirely different thing to be “surprised” with these disgusting comments. I won’t even call them jokes at this point.
I feel like Mulaney’s infant could give him better career advice than whoever told him this was a solid idea.
On the flip side… for a guy that used to be quite funny at least a good deal of the time… sure sounds like the only attention Chapelle gets is negative attention. Nobody cares enough to talk about him unless he’s doing something terrible at this point. No wonder he’s so desperate to be a victim – it’s the only time anyone gives a flying f-ck and I don’t think his ego can handle that.
Oh my god that must have been a complete shitshow for so many in the audience, I’m so sorry that happened to them. If I go to see, I don’t know, Seth Meyers perform, I sure as hell don’t want Louis C.K. showing up!
I was disappointed in Mulaney when he completely mishandled his personal life and then flaunted the aftermath on IG (well, his girlfriend mostly did that) but that’s still his messy personal life. This is him being a professional douchebag! God. When does it stop with these MEN???
I turned 50 last week and as I age I pay way less attention to celebrity. But over the last decade it has been a huge bummer watching men who previously said and did things that made them seem smart, cool, interesting and on the right side of history just- stop growing intellectually and become bigots – it’s not that they’ve become grumpy old men.
George Carlin became old and grumpy but still managed to not be the thing he used to make fun of.
Matt Damon, Jon Stewart, Dave chapelle.
I think depp was always a monster- I just thought drunks were cool when I was young.
It is depressing.
Amen, Ariel! And this is so gross. Shame on JM and I’m just so disgusted by what Chappelle is doing.
DC told transphobic jokes and asked a disabled woman something so vile I won’t even allude to it.
Both these men are known assholes. JMs behavior maybe a bit newer but he’s been acting up for a while now, though it was confined to his personal life. That time is over and the asshole has spread to be affecting folks outside side his circle. It’s beyond time to drop them both.
This is vile. The trans community is under attack across America so for John to share his platform with a comedian targeting that group is awful. I have so little respect for John after the last 3 years. What an asshole.
As to Chappelle, he was formerly one of the greatest comics of his generation(not even his show but his early specials). I saw him live several times but the hateful direction he has headed in over the last several years is somewhere I can’t follow and I am no longer a fan. Leaving aside how morally wrong he is, these jokes are just unfunny? Like, have we ever seen a major talent whose work has fallen off like this?
Aww man those tweets are so sad. People have a right to feel totally furious and hurt.
Chapelle and Mulaney are assholes. And I’ll throw in Munn for free too.
Having Chappelle, a known transphobe, open is bad enough. Having an arena of 12,000 laugh at his “jokes,” is so disheartening. I feel for the trans persons and LGBTQ audience members surrounded in that hostile atmosphere.
Columbus is liberal (particularly the area in which this occurred) even if most of the rest of Ohio isn’t. I doubt this went down well at all.
Although reading the tweets describing the laughter is disheartening.
Yeah, it sounds like the audience mostly liked it. Which means we’ll see more of this in the future. I think after the Oscars slap, commedians are determined to stick together and help each other out against the world, no matter how morally questionable some of them are.
Mulvaney made a helluva statement about himself by having Chapelle open and then embracing him afterward. No matter how much he may attempt to distance himself from Chapelle’s comments, Mulvaney’s drenched in that stench of transphobic bigotry. I hope Anna Marie Tendler’s out there living her best life, free of her toxic-bro ex.
I’m surprised/disappointed that 12,000 people still want to see Mulaney after whom he has shown himself to be – even before the Chappelle stunt.
Ugh. This was so gross. Mulaney had already shown himself to be an asshole in his personal life, but I don’t think his audience would have had any idea that they were signing up for a transphobic set by Dave Chappelle.
I can only assume that Mulaney thinks people whining about cancel culture are a more profitable audience for him these days than his old one, but he could have at least had the decency to make this clear BEFORE people bought tickets to his show.
If you’re going to a comedy show in Ohio why would you be shocked that Dave shows up as a guest since he lives there and they are friends. I wouldn’t be surprised. Also, it seems like the majority of the audience had a good time and enjoyed the show. If you don’t want to be made fun of them don’t attend comedy shows. Everything is off limits. That’s how comedy shows are. Someone is bound to get offended.
Seems possible that Depp may not be the monster that was thought….
troll
I never thought he was a monster in his marriage even if I believe Heard. But the leaning into this horrific misogynist dumpster fire, some of which is being paid for by people like Ben Shapiro, is not endearing me to him.
Imo it’s time for all of us to speak with our wallets. We need to stop supporting things that don’t align with being decent. John M and DC have shown us who they are by their actions who cares what their words say. It’s not cancel culture, it’s the only way this stuff stops. I’m sick of the Division but what’s another solution.
There’s so many talented comedians, actors and celebrity out there that aren’t hateful horrible humans. I want to support them.
This site is becoming very Karenbitchy. Besides 20 pages of only white people and royals you’re falling accusing Dave of being transphobic. He’s not. Just drop it and hop off the trends.
What! I saw John’s show in my city a few weeks ago and l’ve been confused. His set was smart and hilarious and I laughed a lot, but he also came across as way more narcissistic than usual. Also, having my phone in a locked neoprene case in my lap really stressed me out because my trans kid was in the hospital for a mental health crisis. That seems fitting now. I won’t be listening to John or Dave again.
Ugh! That must have been very stressful. I hope your kid is doing better and finding support staff they feel comfortable with.
Thank you for your kind words! You are so sweet. Our kid is home now, thank goodness. It’s such a long story what happened with us and we are still in the waves of it, but looking forward to calmer days ahead.
it’s interesting this only picked up after the ohio show. i was at his show in denver’s red rocks on easter and dave chappelle also came out and surprise opened.
honestly the crowd went wild and it doesn’t seem like most people were that bothered, but dave was def transphobic in that one too.
Chappelle is the epitome of a Black man that will trample on women and other minorities if there’s even a shred of a chance that it’ll make him feel less shitty about himself.
Tell me Dave, after decades in the business, has it worked yet?
Didn’t think so.
Dave Chappelle has a right to his opinion. Just because you don’t agree with it, doesn’t make it wrong.
Let us take a moment to recall the old adage about opinions:
Opinions are like a-holes – everyone has one and it stinks.
DC always says something abhorrent these days. At this moment in time I expect the reason for this behavior is that this mouthing off is the only way he feels something in his weiner – kind of like Murray.
How strange to recall my concern for him when we all heard he dropped out of show business to get his mental health together.
Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose.