Dave Chappelle walks off stage at comedy show amid heckling.

[lynkoslynx.1]

Dave Chappelle walks off stage at comedy show amid heckling
'I like some of you. I hate some of you,' comedian says before leaving

Both supporters and critics of Dave Chappelle flooded social media sites with comments Friday, after he was heckled at a show in Connecticut and refused to perform his set.

The comedian was the headliner Thursday night at the Funny or Die Presents The Oddball Comedy & Curiosity Festival, which is touring the country and also features Flight of the Conchords and several other comedians.

Fans said Chappelle came out and told a few jokes but stopped because of the heckling. Video posted online shows Chappelle over the next 25 or so minutes sitting on a stool on stage responding to the hecklers, joking about the situation and even reading the first few sentences of an audience member's book.

He was booed as he walked off the stage of the Comcast Theatre, and some fans demanded their money back.

Stopped shows in the past

Chappelle has had trouble with hecklers in the past, including in June when they interrupted his show in Knoxville, Tenn.

It's also not the first time he has stopped performing his routine because of an unruly crowd. In Florida in 2011, he stopped performing at a charity event – checking his text messages and counting down the minutes onstage. He told a radio interviewer that in a performance in Oakland, Calif., he once lay on the stage for 10 minutes.

Chappelle on Thursday night blamed the hecklers for ruining the Hartford show. He noted his contract mandated that he be on stage for 25 minutes.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to say for 25 minutes," he said.

Later on, he said he didn't blame himself for the situation, which was described as awkward by several fans.

"Hey man, I wanted to do a better show, too," he said, apparently responding to a person in the audience. "It wasn't my fault. Quite noisy in here."

Chappelle called his experience a nightmare and joked he was going back to television, "where it's safe."

"I like some of you. I hate some of you," he said just before leaving the stage and being booed. "I forgive some of you but I don't forgive all of you. You guys have totally ruined my chances for running for Congress or something ... Thank you. Good night."

Left television in 2005

Representatives for Chappelle and the festival didn't return messages Friday.

One of those in the audience was Connecticut state rep. Matthew Lesser.

"He basically stopped his routine and refused to go on and said he was contracted for 25 minutes and said he was just going to sit there," Lesser said. "He was berating the audience and telling them they were a lousy audience. I think it was kind of sad and disappointing."

There also were many people in the crowd who yelled words of support to Chappelle.

Comments on Twitter and other sites ranged from criticizing the Hartford crowd to bashing Chappelle for not being able to handle the hecklers.

Chappelle has been making his most substantial return to stand-up comedy with the Oddball Comedy & Curiosity Festival since famously walking away from his hit Comedy Central series, Chappelle's Show, and a $50 million deal in 2005. He took respite in South Africa for a time and largely dropped off the comedy circuit.

The Oddball festival was set to move on to Pittsburgh on Friday night.

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Dave Chappelle storms off stage after being heckled

Funnyman Dave Chappelle stormed off stage at a gig on his comeback tour on Thursday night (29Aug13) after suffering a barrage of abuse from hecklers, according to reports.

The comedian was performing at a venue in Hartford, Connecticut as part of his series of shows with the Flight of the Conchords duo but his set ended on a bad note after just a few minutes.

After rebuking the audience for heckling him, Chappelle sat quietly on a stool for 25 minutes before leaving the stage, according to editors at NBC Connecticut.

The cult comedian returned to the spotlight this month after keeping a low profile since walking away from his hit TV program, Chappelle's Show, in 2005.

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I dunno man, that sucks.

 

[HappyHapyJoyJoy]

Trolls - Not Just for the Internet Anymore! (okay, technically they never were, but that's beside the point)

 

[BCT]

Was that filmed with potato?

 

[Elwood70]

I love Dave Chappelle, but I'll say this: If you can't handle hecklers, you shouldn't be doing standup.

 

[HappyHapyJoyJoy]

I love Dave Chappelle, but I'll say this: If you can't handle hecklers, you shouldn't be doing standup.

I really don't like this argument. I've seen this applied to everything from cashiers and waitresses, to everyone posting on the Internet, to being in porn (and I've seen Roald and Petra level this criticism at people all while banishing questions about the Miss FreeOnes competition to exile on the "Members Only" board... because everyone else should have to be adept at juggling critics, but it seems no one actually wants to when it's them, huh? Just sayin'...). Just because some jobs attract assholes doesn't mean we should coddle the assholes. If I'm at a standup show I want to see the act. If someone in the audience wants to heckle I want them kicked the fuck out. It's like talking during a movie... if you're disruptive you should be ejected, plain and simple. I came to see the comedian, not to listen to someone in the audience whine about them. Maybe the comedian is having an off day. Maybe the audience member accidentally bought tickets to see Chappelle and is disappointed because it's not the comedian they wanted to see. Maybe that audience member is just a disruptive douche who thinks they're funny (and generally isn't). Any which way if I pay to see a particular act I don't want to have it interrupted by someone else. The only time this doesn't hold true is with certain (very rare) talents who can make impromptu riffing on the audience entertaining... and as said that's rare and shouldn't be required to be a standup comedian.

And yeah, I've been to standup shows before where some drunken assholes have decided to be problematic. It was not called for, and I definitely didn't blame the talent.

I like you Elwood, but I hate that argument.

 

[316sherm]

Sometimes, when you've had enough...you've had enough! You don't think this dood is tired of hearing "I'm Rick James bitch!" or any other kind of aggravating crap? Fuck, if you are mad, wouldn't you walk off too? I'm ridin with Dave on this one. If he didn't have money then maybe you put up with the BS. Every time a comic walks off a stage or talks back it's a big deal...why? The people are gettin their money back.

 

[Elwood70]

I never said "coddle the assholes", I said "handle hecklers". There's a difference. If you're not savvy about shutting them down, they will ruin the show. They'll fuck up your timing and flow. I'll give Dave the benefit of the doubt, and say that he was having a bad night. Every comic I'm aware of hates hecklers, as do I, but all of the good ones know how to handle them. Unfortunately, they're a part of the job, and they're not going away.

 

[HappyHapyJoyJoy]

I never said "coddle the assholes", I said "handle hecklers". There's a difference. If you're not savvy about shutting them down, they will ruin the show. They'll fuck up your timing and flow. I'll give Dave the benefit of the doubt, and say that he was having a bad night. Every comic I'm aware of hates hecklers, as do I, but all of the good ones know how to handle them. Unfortunately, they're a part of the job, and they're not going away.

They aren't really a part of the job though. A lot of places will eject the assholes when they act up. The fact is that some people are just bad and won't shut up. You can't handle them. And it shouldn't be a part of the job to deal with them (that's what bouncers are for). You see footage of some comedians riffing off of hecklers and it dies down, but in my experience that's the exception (I guess this is the cost/benefit of living near several comedy clubs and seeing more of this stuff than most people... you get very familiar with hecklers). Usually someone has to be ejected, or the set just gets messed up because hecklers aren't actually criticizing, they're just being disruptive assholes. Usually they're very, very drunk.

What I've found is that in a best case scenario the heckler cuts into the comedian's time and you only get to see a portion of the material that they're paid to perform. Ultimately the folks who lose out are the audience. This is a sticking point for me since there was a time when I paid to see a name comedian, he was heckled (despite doing fine and getting laughs) and the comedian riffed on the guy a bit (it was kind of funny, not great but I laughed a little... the comedian in question is okay with audience interaction, but his strength is generally his material... at least IMO) and it took a bit for the bouncers to toss the guy. When the guy I paid to see's time was up he was maybe 3/4rs of the way through his material. He was rushed off stage mid-bit because someone else was scheduled. Not cool.

Look at it this way: Most hecklers are the equivalent of this board's Sam Fisher. Do you think anyone can riff on Sam enough that he'll just laugh it off and shut up? Because I don't. He's a troll. He's just going to be disruptive until he gets kicked out, plain and simple. And even if you could shut "Sam" up... when comedians are given twenty minutes of time they generally have twenty minutes of material. Standup isn't improv. So no matter what happens... hecklers fuck the audience over.

 

[Jack Davenport]

Cocaine is a hell of a drug!

 

[Thoros]

Any which way if I pay to see a particular act I don't want to have it interrupted by someone else. The only time this doesn't hold true is with certain (very rare) talents who can make impromptu riffing on the audience entertaining... and as said that's rare and shouldn't be required to be a standup comedian.

Jimmy Carr does this pretty well and sometimes encourages it. His material gets me too.

Also I agree that a comedian shouldn't have to learn to deal with hecklers. Audience members should be told to keep quiet unless the comedian openly encourages them to join in. If they can't keep quiet they should be removed.

 

[TheSpokenWheel]

^Jimmy Carr's the fucking man.

And as far as Dave goes, I don't really blame him. I can't imagine what it's like to put yourself up there like that I front of a few hundred people and have some of them be so fucking rude and unappreciative.

 

[Will E Worm]

If someone disrupts the show then they need to be removed.

 

[wdoall]

I don't like hecklers but if you're a comedian and you can't deal with it then you're in the wrong business

 

[HappyHapyJoyJoy]

I don't like hecklers but if you're a comedian and you can't deal with it then you're in the wrong business

The vast majority of comedians are about material, not improv. While the fields are related, they're not the same. If I go to see someone I want someone who is good at their job, not someone else's.

If someone disrupts the show then they need to be removed.

Then again, I'm apparently entirely wrong about this... so never mind. :dunno:

 

[wdoall]

I agree But as a comic, at some time you WILL have hecklers. I am not saying you have to confront then as some do, But need to find a way to deal with them. For all we know, this is Chappelles schtick i.e. Andy Kaufman

The vast majority of comedians are about material, not improv. While the fields are related, they're not the same. If I go to see someone I want someone who is good at their job, not someone else's.



Then again, I'm apparently entirely wrong about this... so never mind. :dunno:

 

[D-rock]

Part of the problem with hecklers like this is that they not only disrupt the comedian, but also ruin the show for everybody else in the crowd that doesn't want to hear them. If I go to a comedy show I don't want the person up on stage to have to stop and respond to a bunch of idiots in the crowd, and I also don't want to listen to them. When somebody gets that disruptive they just need to be removed.

 

[lynkoslynx.1]

Yeah, he's still the man, fuck those hecklers, who do they think they are ruining a show with Dave for others (I admit I don't know the whole situation but...)... when was the last time he performed? See... he's right, people are stupid, at least he gave them their 30 minutes or what have you. I'd have cheered him, what, it was a couple hours out of their lives to see an event and this is what happened.

 

[HappyHapyJoyJoy]

I agree But as a comic, at some time you WILL have hecklers. I am not saying you have to confront then as some do, But need to find a way to deal with them.

Let me frame this another way...

Because a lot of men are assholes, if a young pretty woman (and honestly, the young and pretty parts probably aren't even necessary) becomes a waitress eventually she will get sexually harassed. It's going to happen. So do you think it's reasonable for us to expect that these women be able to handle people grabbing their asses and saying demeaning things to them because they became waitresses? Or is it more reasonable to expect men not to be pigs, and for management to eject these assholes when they act like pigs?

Because what you're saying is pretty much, because there are some people who can't behave/control themselves out there, that the comedian is "Asking for it" and that's maybe an ugly argument to make when you look at it from a broader spectrum (and yeah, it gets even uglier than the waitress/harassment scenario...).

Now, by no means am I saying that these scenarios are comparable in gravity, but I am trying point out that in essence what we're doing when we point fingers at the comedian is essentially blaming the victim and I think that's maybe not a good thing. Really, should we expect people to deal with harassment, or should we expect people not to be harassed and people not to act like insensitive assholes?

 

[wdoall]

No, But there are "hazards" of certain jobs there are ways to deal with it either its just getting management to remove the people or like some comedians attacking that person and making him look stupid. I'm not saying it's right, But there are ways to deal with it without punishing the rest of the customers

 

[Lacey Black]

I don't blame him at all, from what I've read it seems like a bunch of different people kept yelling out skits from the Chappelle show and interrupting his act. Thats not the type of thing you can just laugh off and make a joke about like some comedians do with one heckler.