Dave Chappelle may have garnered an Emmy nomination for his controversial The Closer special, but today the comic was booted out of one of Minneapolis’ most storied venues for his often wounding take on the Transgender community.

Mere hours before the Mark Twain Prize winner was set to step on to the stage at the Minnesota metropolis’ First Avenue, organizers pulled the plug on the sold out show. Citing a backlash against Chappelle’s perceived transphobic remarks, First Avenue management cancelled his protested performance at the venue and moved him to the nearby Varsity Theater.

Here is what First Avenue said earlier today:

The Varsity Theater took to Twitter Wednesday to reinforce the shift of venues:

Attention Dave Chappelle Fans! The show scheduled for tonight at First Ave has now been moved to Varsity Theater. Your tickets from First Ave will be honored. Doors open at 8PM and we highly recommend arriving early.

This event will be a phone-free experience. pic.twitter.com/khrphPmqZo

— Varsity Theater (@VarsityTheater) July 20, 2022

Reps for Chappelle, who is set to put on two other shows at the Varsity tomorrow and on July 22, did not respond to a request for comment from Deadline. Tickets for Chappelle’s First Avenue gig were suddenly released on July 18 and were scooped up within minutes for the 1,550 main room capacity facility.

For those of you living under a rock or requiring a cultural anthropology lesson, First Avenue is the club featured heavily in Prince’s iconic Purple Rain film from 1984. Though First Avenue has never official been declared a historical landmark, as many believe it should be, the venue celebrated its 50th anniversary back in 2020. Over his career, Chappelle has performed at the venue repeatedly.

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