‘The crowd got a little rude’: Dave Chappelle heckled during Edmonton show

Many fans of Dave Chappelle in Edmonton say they're embarrassed after the comedian was heckled at his performance at Rogers Place on Wednesday.

Comedian Dave Chappelle’s performance in Edmonton on Wednesday night was dampened by hecklers, and a radio show host made a song to apologize on the city’s behalf.

Callers on 104.9 Virgin Radio’s morning show told co-hosts Peter Kash and Jenna Winterburn the night was a “disaster,” with Chappelle himself shutting down and telling the audience he was ready to leave the stage.

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Social media posts after the show reflected the same complaints, with some on X acknowledging poor sound and temperature at Rogers Place but condemning audience behaviour.

While there is no video of the performance as cell phones were banned from the venue, Sherri Coates, who was at the show, describes a similar scene.

“Three quarters of the way through, that’s when the crowd kind of got a little rude,” she told CTV News Edmonton on Thursday.

“I think people may have had a little bit too much to drink ... there’s a lot of noise, maybe the sound wasn’t the best quality. But I mean, you can’t really blame that on him,” she added.

Winterburn, who’s been a standup comedian for eight years, heard the complaints and took it upon herself to open the radio morning show with an apology song for Chappelle to the tune of Justin Bieber’s Sorry.

“Rogers Place is usually such a vibe,” the parody begins. “There was a show and some of Edmonton wasn’t very nice.”

Both Coates and Winterburn think the show left a negative impression on Chappelle and his team.

Chappelle will continue his North American tour in Portland on Friday. His team has not yet commented on his Edmonton experience.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Marek Tkach