Dave Chappelle makes surprise appearance at Liverpool comedy club

Dave Chappelle made a surprise appearance at a Liverpool comedy club ahead of his UK tour with Chris Rock.

The comedian performed an unplanned two-hour set at Liverpool’s Hot Water Comedy Club on Wednesday (August 31), where he was joined by Jeff Ross. You can check out pictures from the show below.

Fellow comedian Adam Rowe tweeted that he had taken both Chappelle and Ross to Liverpool’s Chinatown following the set, describing it as “one of the maddest Wednesday nights I’ve ever been involved in”.

Chappelle kicked off his short UK tour with Chris Rock on Thursday (September 1) at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool. They’re set to perform at the O2 Arena in London on Saturday (September 3) and Sunday (September 4).

Dave Chappelle dropped into @HWCCLiverpool tonight. pic.twitter.com/gDvoyfTsHt

— Adam Rowe (@adamrowecomedy) August 31, 2022

Loads of people have asked us if Dave Chappelle & Jeff Ross enjoyed performing at Hot Water. They did nearly 2 hours and just look at this photo….

Book tickets for all shows https://t.co/j4KbAxQC5g@davechappelle @therealjeffreyross pic.twitter.com/rnawdDwTIY

— Hot Water Comedy (@HWCCLiverpool) September 2, 2022

Taking Dave Chappelle and Jeff Ross to Chinatown in Liverpool at 2am might be one of the maddest Wednesday nights I’ve ever been involved in. pic.twitter.com/Tr4OkRKVtH

— Adam Rowe (@adamrowecomedy) September 1, 2022

In July, a Chappelle stand-up gig was cancelled by the First Avenue venue in Minnesota due to backlash from “staff, artists and our community”.

He previously faced criticism for last year’s Netflix special The Closer, where some material was perceived as transphobic. In the special, he labelled himself a “TERF” and said “gender was a fact” in reference to the controversy around Harry Potter author JK Rowling.

Rock, meanwhile, has been in the spotlight following his altercation with Will Smith at the Oscars in March this year, where he was struck by the actor after making a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith.

Smith, who was banned from all Academy events for 10 years following the incident, posted an apology video in July. “I’ve reached out to Chris and the message that came back is he’s not ready to talk and when he is, he will reach out,” the actor said.

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