Dave Chappelle has cancelled his upcoming shows in Austin, Texas after testing positive for Covid-19, the comedian revealed Thursday night.
On Wednesday, Chappelle appeared onstage for what was the first show of a five-night residency at Austin’s Stubbs Waller Creek Amphitheater. However, sometime soon after, the comedian was diagnosed with coronavirus. Chappelle is currently quarantining and asymptomatic, a rep for the comedian said in a statement (via Variety).
“Chappelle has safely conducted socially distanced shows in Ohio since June 2020 and he moved those shows to Austin during the winter,” the statement said. “Chappelle implemented Covid-19 protocols which included rapid testing for the audience and daily testing for himself and his team. His diligent testing enabled him to immediately respond by quarantining, thus mitigating the spread of the virus.”
Ticket holders for the four remaining shows (Thursday through Sunday night) were advised to contact their point of purchase for refunds.
In recent days, Chappelle was photographed with Elon Musk and Grimes, who less than two weeks ago revealed she had tested positive for Covid-19.
When Chappelle hosted the post-Election Day episode of Saturday Night Live, the comedian’s opening monologue talked about staging his live shows in a cornfield near his Ohio home as well as people who refuse to wear masks during a pandemic.
“I don’t know why poor white people don’t like to wear masks, what is the problem? You wear masks at the Klan rally, wear it at the Walmart too. Wear your Klan hood at Walmart so we can all feel safe,” Chappelle said.