Dave Chappelle Fans Flock To San Francisco's Chase Center Amid Netflix Controversy

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Thousands of Dave Chappelle fans flocked to San Francisco's Chase Center Thursday night for a sold-out viewing of his "Untitled" documentary and a night of comedy and music.

Chappelle has been embroiled in controversy over his comments regarding the transgender community in his "The Closer" Netflix comedy special.

Two weeks ago, dozens of employees at the Netflix headquarters in Los Gatos filed out of the building to stage a rally in the parking lot. The same thing happened outside the Netflix offices in Los Angeles. Their message was that the Chappelle special had crossed the line.

But outside the Chase Center Thursday there was no large protest, just long lines of fans going through the COVID vaccination check points before entering the arena.

"Untitled" is a collection of clips from online shows he did with invited guests from a neighbor's cornfield near his Ohio home during the COVID pandemic. Among the issues addressed was the outrage over the murder of George Floyd and life during the pandemic.

Fans were quick to point out that "Untitled" and the "The Closer" have much different content.

"I'm not one to speak on that, tonight he didn't have any (transgender jokes)," said James Edwards as he left the arena. "It (the controversy) was not about the documentary he made. There were a lot of comedians on there so I enjoyed myself. It was a different experience, there were a lot of musical guests. He didn't even do a full standup routine."

Suroosh Wadia also enjoyed the show.

"I think it (Untitled) was honest," Wadia said. "I think it was about everything that has been going on since the pandemic started. I don't think it was malicious at all. It's something for the people."

When asked about the controversy, Wadia was not as critical of the edgy comedian.

"It just comedy," he said. "The truist form of comedy is everybody is able to say what they want."

Timothy Brandon agreed.

"I think people need to be just a little bit more tougher skin," he said. "It's just comedy, that's all it is."

Chappelle is staging viewings of "Untitled" in 10 arena shows across the country and at select film festivals.