US Senate hopeful Hill Harper hosts Dave Chappelle for comedy fundraiser in Detroit

Hill Harper | Ken Coleman

Comedian Dave Chappelle, who has garnered criticism for his repeated jokes at the expense of the transgender community, will headline a campaign fundraising show next week in Detroit for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Hill Harper.

The show, which is set for July 11 at Saint Andrew’s Hall, is being promoted on ActBlue, the fundraising website for Democrats. Tickets range between $250 and $3,300, with the highest level getting access to a “VIP reception” with Harper after the show. $3,300 is also the maximum donation that an individual can make to a federal candidate per election cycle.

Harper is running as a progressive as he seeks the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate this August, facing off against U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly).

Also in the U.S. Senate race are four Republicans: former U.S. Reps. Mike Rogers (R-White Lake) and Justin Amash (I-Cascade Twp.), businessman Sandy Pensler and Dr. Sherry O’Donnell, a physician and former 2022 congressional candidate.

Chappelle has long been a target of criticism from the LGBTQ+ community, noting his repeated references to “the alphabet people,” and jokes deemed as transphobic during several of his Netflix specials, including in October 2021 when hundreds of Netflix employees staged a walkout in protest of content included in “The Closer,” which was filmed in Detroit. 

That particular special also prompted the Human Rights Campaign Foundation to leave Netflix off of its Corporate Equality Index in 2022 due to “harm experienced by transgender workers at Netflix as a result of the company’s handling of the release of “The Closer.”

Harper has been accused of transphobic reactions, when he seemed to purposely misgender former NBA star Dwyane Wade’s trans daughter, Zaya, on her 13th birthday in 2020.

A request for comment on the fundraiser was sent to the Harper campaign by the Michigan Advance, but has yet to be returned. The Slotkin campaign declined to comment.

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