Grammy Awards 2024: Dave Chappelle Wins Best Comedy Album Fifth Time In His Career With What's In A Name?

Dave Chappelle won the Grammy for Best Comedy Album for his album Dave Chappelle: What's in a Name?, which was released connected to his Netflix special. The comedian was crowned the winner over competitors Wanda Sykes, Sarah Silverman, Chris Rock, and Trevor Noah, who hosted the 66th annual Grammy Awards. 

Dave Chappelle wins the Grammy for Best Comedy Album

Dave Chappelle has won his fifth Grammy for Best Comedy Album and second consecutive time for What's in a Name, a Netflix special from his speech at Duke Ellington School of the Arts where he defended his controversial 2021 special, The Closer which won the comedy album prize at the 2023 Grammys and emphasized his support for freedom of expression.

Chappelle wasn’t in attendance to accept the award, which was handed out during the premiere ceremony, where the majority of this year’s Grammys are given out, so presenter Rufus Wainwright accepted it on his behalf.

Chappelle’s What’s in a Name was released on Netflix in July 2022 and was taken from a speech he gave at the school the month prior, which was intended to be a ceremony celebrating the renaming of the school’s theater for Chappelle. Instead, Chappelle said he wanted to defer the renaming to highlight “the nuance of art” and “my right, my freedom of artistic expression” and said he wanted the new name to be the Theater for Artistic Freedom and Expression.

Advertisement

“Rather than give this theater my name, I would like to give these students my message,” Chappelle said in his speech.

Dave Chappelle defends The Closer

During the Netflix special, Dave Chappelle defended The Closer, which sparked backlash for material focused on the transgender community, including Chappelle saying he’s on “team TERF” or “trans-exclusionary radical feminist” and aligning himself with J.K. Rowling, who has made several statements viewed as anti-trans. The special prompted a virtual walkout and public rally at Netflix’s offices as the streamer has continued to support Chappelle and the special.

The Closer also sparked criticism from current Duke Ellington students, when Chappelle initially returned to his alma mater in November 2021, when the renaming ceremony was set to take place. During that event, several students criticized The Closer. Chappelle said that it had sincerely hurt him.

"The more you say I can’t say something, the more urgent it is for me to say it,” Chappelle said in part during the Duke Ellington speech captured in What’s In a Name. “It has nothing to do with what you are saying I can’t say. It has everything to do with my freedom of artistic expression.”

ALSO READ: 5 Best Moments From Grammys 2024 Red Carpet

Advertisement