Dave Chappelle returns to Detroit for first time since infamous 2015 show

DETROIT – Dave Chappelle was planning his comeback.

Chappelle had always thought of Detroit as a challenge for him. Which is probably why he picked the city for part of his comeback tour.

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Chappelle planned a few back-to-back shows in Detroit in the spring of 2015. Fans were given only a few days notice before the show, and tickets went fast.

The first show was fairly routine. Some light heckling, but nothing out of the sort.

The late show that night would be written about for days to come.

Chappelle, as we know now, showed up to the late show high and was booed and heckled non-stop at the Fillmore in Downtown Detroit.

Chappelle addressed the incident in his newest Netflix stand up, saying, "I was booed; I did not leave."

"I had smoked some reefer with some rappers,” he said. “I don’t know if you know anything about hanging out with rappers, but their weed is very strong. Stronger than I was accustomed to.”

It was later revealed that Detroit rapper Danny Brown was the culpret. 

Two years after the incident, Chappelle is returning again to Detroit - this time for six shows at the Fillmore, starting Tuesday night.

At a previous show in 2014, Chappelle had also lost the crowd, at one point proclaiming, "Detroit, you got me again!"

It seems that maybe Chappelle has progressed past these issues with crowds. It wasn't new that a show went bad for the comedian - the booing and heckling was a pretty consistent issue at several shows since his comeback.

Has the new light, and new standup cleaned this problem up? Have fans moved on from yelling Rick James lines during the show?

It's clear that Detroit holds a special place in Chappelle's comedy heart - by returning to the stage at the Fillmore - Chappelle is proclaiming "challenge accepted."


About the Author:

Ken Haddad has proudly been with WDIV/ClickOnDetroit since 2013. He also authors the Morning Report Newsletter and various other newsletters, and helps lead the WDIV Insider team. He's a big sports fan and is constantly sipping Lions Kool-Aid.