John Mulaney invited transphobe Dave Chappelle to open at his Ohio gig

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.

[From Variety]

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.