Dave Chappelle Tests Positive For Covid-19, Cancels Shows
For months during the coronavirus pandemic, Dave Chappelle has been putting on outdoor, socially-distanced standup comedy shows near his home in Ohio, with Covid testing for the audience and guests. This week, Chappelle was set to do shows at Stubb’s in Austin, Texas, an outdoor concert venue and barbecue restaurant. But following the first of the shows, the rest of the run were canceled after Chappelle tested positive for Covid-19.
That’s the news from TMZ, who received word from Chappelle’s publicist that the comedian and actor is “is currently quarantined after the positive test” but “has not yet experienced any symptoms.” Chappelle’s shows at Stubb’s on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and next Tuesday have all been canceled and refunds are being offered.
The Friday and Saturday shows were supposed to also feature podcaster and comedian Joe Rogan, who has since announced he “was not exposed to the person who had covid and I have tested negative every day this week.” He also added that “the person that gave covid to Dave was NOT Elon’s partner, Grimes” — after Chappelle and Rogen were photographed earlier this week with Musk and Grimes, who announced her own positive Covid diagnosis earlier in January.
Chappelle recently made headlines for calling for a “boycott” of his beloved sketch series Chappelle’s Show because of his ongoing pay dispute with the owners of the show, ViacomCBS. Chappelle said that because he quit the show shortly after signing a large contract extension, he’s never gotten paid for any of ViacomCBS’ licensing deals with streaming services like Netflix and HBO Max. Chappelle compared the situation to “fencing stolen goods.” (In response, both Netflix and HBO Max stopped streaming the series.) Hopefully Chappelle makes a speedy recovery and can resume performing soon.
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