JAY-Z doesn’t make a lot of public appearances, but when he does, it’s for a special occasion.
On Friday (July 22), Hov was in the building at Chris Rock and Kevin Hart’s sold-out show at New York City’s Madison Square Garden on their Rock Hart Only Headliners Allowed Tour, where they were joined by special guest and fellow comedy legend Dave Chappelle.
In photos captured by JAY-Z’s longtime associate, Lenny “Kodak Lens” Santiago, the Roc Nation boss can be seen kicking back and enjoying the show from high up in the press box.
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Other celebrities in attendance included Questlove, LeBron James’ longtime business partner Maverick Carter, fashion designer Rhuigi Villaseñor, comedian Tony Rock and more.
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Of course, Lenny S. also captured the “historic” moment Rock, Hart and Chappelle shared the MSG stage together — alongside an actual goat.
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Chappelle surprised the NYC crowd by delivering a 20-minute opening set, before returning to the stage next to Rock and Hart after the headliners had entertained the crowd for an hour. Chappelle took a few minutes to speak on the camaraderie comedians share with one another.
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“Tonight, being with these guys means the world to me,” he said. “They try to cancel people, but you have to understand something: I’ve been doing this for 35 years. Comedians, we go to their birthday parties, we go to their weddings, we go to their baby’s fucking baby showers, we go to each other’s funerals.”
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He added, “But my man, these men and women that do stand up comedy have a culture that would be very hard for you to understand. I’ve said it before, each and everyone one of you, no matter what you believe, has a champion in our room and we would never silence each other. And when my brothers call me, I come running.”
Chappelle’s appearance at MSG comes days after his show at First Avenue in Minneapolis, Minnesota was canceled due to backlash from the LGBTQ+ community over his 2021 Netflix special The Closer. The venue issued a statement apologizing to their guests and moved the show to the Varsity Theater.
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In The Closer, Chappelle addressed various hot button issues including the controversy surrounding DaBaby’s homophobic rant at Rolling Loud Miami last year and Caitlyn Jenner being crowned “Woman of the Year” by Glamour magazine.
