Comedian Dave Chappelle is donating the sales from a recent stand-up routine to the family members and victims of the mass shooting in Buffalo, New York.
The 48-year-old funnyman performed a last-minute gig on Sunday night at Shea’s Performing Arts Center in Buffalo, and at the end of his performance, he announced that he’d be giving the proceeds to the victims’ families.
The mass shooting occurred on May 14 in a Tops grocery store; ten people were murdered, and three were injured when a gunman opened fire with an AR-15 style weapon. All the victims were Black, and the attack is suspected of being motivated by racism.
Dave Chappelle performed gig for victims of Buffalo shooting
According to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, the venue has confirmed that Chappelle will be making a donation. Kevin Sweeney, director of marketing and communications at the 3,000 seater arena, told the outlet: “[Chappelle] said, and I’m paraphrasing, ‘I came here to Buffalo to recognize the victims and for these families.'”
Chappelle also reportedly told the audience that he had invited members of the victims’ families to the show and that they were in the audience.
According to Sweeney, the event was organized very last minute. Chappelle only announced the gig on June 1, and when the tickets went on sale the following day, they were sold out in an hour. The comedian had previously performed a sold-out show in Buffalo in 2016.
The venue was unable to provide any more details about the donation, explaining that it was not involved in Chappelle’s charity plans.
The alleged suspect in the Buffalo mass shooting is 18-year-old Payton Gendron. He has pleaded not guilty to 10 counts of first-degree murder. He is also charged with 25 other counts.
Gendron is suspected of having specifically targeted Black people in a predominantly Black neighborhood.
Dave Chappelle was recently attacked while performing
Chappelle was himself a victim of crime recently when an individual attacked him as he was performing on stage in Los Angeles. The suspect was armed with a replica firearm that had a blade attached.
The comedian was uninjured in the incident, but the attacker was taken to a hospital after suffering some minor injuries; he was also arrested by LAPD. Chappelle controversially joked that the attacker was a trans man, a reference to previous controversial comments about transgender men and women.