Comedian Dave Chappelle tests positive for coronavirus, cancels shows in Texas

Popular stand-up comedian, writer and producer Dave Chappelle has tested positive for COVID-19, media houses have confirmed with the comedian’s rep. The news was first reported by TMZ which quoted a rep for the comedian to state that multiple shows of Chappelle in Austin, Texas, were cancelled after the writer contracted the virus. Although Chappelle has been in quarantine after the test, he has not experienced any symptoms. As per reports, Chappelle had performed in the first of five shows scheduled in Austin on Wednesday. The rest of the shows were set to take place through the week but were cancelled after the diagnosis. Comedian Joe Rogan, who was part of two of the shows, also took to Instagram to announce that the events have been cancelled. Check it out here

Chappelle was captured with Rogan, Elon Musk and Grimes together earlier this week at Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater in Austin. All of his shows were scheduled to be staged at this spot. The post also carried the hashtag ‘COVID tested’ in the caption. News portal Variety cited a rep’s comments to state that Chappelle has been conducting “socially distanced shows in Ohio since June 2020” and he had moved to Austin during the winter. A statement shared by the rep said, “Chappelle implemented COVID-19 protocols which included rapid testing for the audience and daily testing for himself and his team”. The statement mentioned that it was because of the “diligent testing” procedure set in place that Chappelle was able to “immediately respond by quarantining, thus mitigating the spread of the virus”. Back in November last year, Chappelle was in news after revealing how he had asked Netflix to take down his show from the platform. He had said that Chappelle’s Show was being licensed by original rights holder ViacomCBS without his permission.