Dave Chappelle is screening his latest documentary at Toronto's Scotiabank Arena next month, and despite the recent Netflix controversy, the event has already sold out. Now, scalpers are reselling the tickets online, and the prices are more than a little hefty.
Chappelle faced backlash following the release of his Netflix comedy special The Closer for his remarks about the transgender community, which caused a public outcry and sparked a companywide walkout in California.
In the wake of this controversy, Chappelle announced a screening of his documentary Untitled would come to Toronto on November 15. Tickets went on sale on Wednesday, October 27, and quickly sold out on Ticketmaster. Resale tickets have now popped up on StubHub, but they cost a small fortune.
Tickets by the front stage in the first three rows are being sold by scalpers for anywhere between $2,743 to $8,051 a pop. Outside of the floor, tickets are getting resold at a starting price of $215 a ticket. Some people are also reselling tickets outside of StubHub and posting bids on Twitter.
But some Torontonians are not happy that Chappelle will be holding a screening in the city.
"This is the type of act @scotiabank wants its name to associate with? You call yourself an ally of the LGBTQ2S+ community. @ScotiabankArena thanks for having the back of the trans community," one Twitter user wrote.
Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment told the Toronto Star that it hosts a variety of public events and that "in some cases certain aspects of the content may be offensive or harmful to some and will not reflect the views or values of our organization."
Chapelle responded to the backlash in a video posted to his Instagram this week.
"I want everyone in this audience to know that even though the media frames this that it's me versus that community, it's not what it is. Do not blame the LGBTQ community for any of this sh*t. This has nothing to do with them, it's about corporate interest and what I can say and what I cannot say," he said.
"For the record, and I need you [the audience] to know this, everyone I know from that community has been nothing but loving and supporting so I don't know what all this nonsense is about," Chappelle added.
Chappelle's documentary Untitled will feature the socially distanced shows he held during the pandemic.