Dave Chappelle fans turn out for the comedy in Santa Rosa, not bothered by controversy

Throngs of fans queued up Tuesday evening outside Santa Rosa’s Luther Burbank Center for the Arts for the highly anticipated, sold-out opening night show of comedian Dave Chappelle.

The controversial performer, whose concerts have been protested in other parts of the country, has attracted the ire of members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community, a group known as LGBTQ+.

They accuse him of being transphobic because of jokes he has made in a series of Netflix comedy specials. The most recent one, “The Closer,” was made in 2021.

Members of Sonoma County’s LGBTQ+ community, and their allies, obtained more than 500 signatures on an online petition urging LBC officials to cancel Chappelle’s shows here.

Chappelle is scheduled to perform three other sold-out shows at the LBC through Thursday.

A representative of the venue who said officials chose to honor the contract with Chappelle’s producers after considering censorship concerns said they are willing to meet with those who are objecting to the performances.

No protesters turned up outside the LBC Tuesday night.

Ticket-holders awaiting the start of Tuesday night’s show touted their yearslong fandom of Chappelle and defended his style of humor. A few were reluctant to share details about themselves for fear they’d get backlash for attending.

His supporters have said his jokes target multiple audiences and include political messages about today’s society.

Here’s what some of his North Bay fans had to say:

• "Comedians will make jokes that involve other cultures or races or ethnicities. I don't think that that means they're "punching down“... I think a lot of what Dave Chappelle does, is simply compare movements and ask questions about the progress that those movements have made," said Dragonfly De La Luz of San Francisco.

• “He’s a comedian and he’s talking about current events and what’s happening in the world,” said Kim Shepard of Ukiah.

• “Part of being a comedian involves pushing the boundaries. ... trying to limit an act because it offends you is not the way to go about it,” said Adam LaBelle of Santa Rosa.

• “I’ve been a longtime fan. ... I watched ‘The Closer’ over and over and he makes fun of everyone,” said Patrick Dorn of Santa Rosa.

• "I feel like each special that I've seen has done something different. And it is usually relative to things going on in the world. But at the same time, too, it's nice to just ease up and have a good laugh about the craziness," said Samantha (no last name given) of Santa Rosa.

• "It's comedy and I feel that as long as he doesn't say or do anything to make it seem violent, then I think that it's fine. You know what I'm saying?" added Aaron (no last name given) of Santa Rosa.

• “You can’t judge based on excerpts. You need to watch his entire show to understand the context of what he’s saying. He’s making a point and he’s hilarious about it. And he’s making fun of a lot of people,” said Alan Roseman of Petaluma.

You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @colin_atagi

Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the place of residence for Dragonfly De La Luz. The article has been updated to reflect De La Luz is a resident of San Francisco.