The Roots Jam Sessions at Gramercy Theatre
Dave Chappelle at The Roots Jam Session in 2018 (more by P Squared)

Dave Chappelle announces Las Vegas shows (one w/ Joe Rogan)

Dave Chappelle began doing socially distanced comedy shows back in June, first at his hometown in Ohio, and then in other locations as well. Now he’s announced a pair of shows in Las Vegas, at MGM Grand Garden Arena on July 2 and July 9. Like previous runs of shows he’s done (including in Austin), 7/2 is billed as “Dave Chappelle and Friends,” and 7/9 is “Dave Chappelle and Joe Rogan.” Unlike the Austin shows, however, these don’t appear to be socially distanced, or to require mandatory rapid COVID testing to attend. Tickets to both dates are on sale now.

This show announcement comes as the often controversial Joe Rogan is in the news again. During a recent episode, he told young listeners they shouldn’t “worry about” getting a COVID vaccine if they’re “healthy,” saying, “If you’re like 21 years old and you say to me, ‘Should I get vaccinated,’ I go, ‘No.’ Are you healthy? Are you a healthy person? … If you’re a healthy person and you’re exercising all the time and you’re young and you’re eating well, I don’t think you need to worry about this.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci called Rogan’s comments “incorrect” while speaking to NBC’s “Today” show, saying, “You’re talking about yourself in a vacuum. You’re worried about yourself getting infected and the likelihood that you’re not going to get any symptoms. But you can get infected, and will get infected, if you put yourself at risk… So if you want to only worry about yourself and not society, then that’s OK. But if you’re saying to yourself, even if I get infected, I could do damage to somebody else even if I have no symptoms at all, and that’s the reason why you’ve got to be careful and get vaccinated.”

Meanwhile, Chappelle recently announced a new podcast with Yasiin Bey and Talib Kweli, The Midnight Miracle.