A business venture in Virginia Beach featuring Pharrell Williams and Dave Chappelle was recently rejected.
Businessman Bruce Thompson, recently turned down a proposal from Grammy Award-winning artist and Virginia Beach resident Pharrell Williams to host a comedy show featuring Dave Chappelle at the historic Cavalier Hotel.
The news comes days after Pharrell announced that his “Something in the Water” music festival would not be held in Virginia Beach. The cancellation is reportedly due to Pharrell’s anger with the city’s handling of his cousin Donovon Lynch’s death, who was shot by police in March.
Thompson’s biggest worry is that the Cavalier is a family resort, and he believes Dave Chappelle is inappropriate for the atmosphere.
He said, “I made it clear that the Cavalier is a family resort in the middle of a residential neighborhood. We feel Dave Chappelle’s material is not appropriate to be in that environment.”
Thompson believes the event should be held inside, rather than on the lawn, so that “people can elect to go to the show rather than be subjected to the show.” He said it might work if it were moved inside.
He added that “under the existing format we can’t support it.”
Thompson was looking for a way to figure out the logistics, but according to the current configuration, they are unable to accommodate the audience size outside.
According to News 3, Pharrell’s production manager thought the Cavalier’s decision was racially motivated, but Thompson denies this and says “it’s unfair to suggest that.”
Thompson told News 3 that he would love to speak to Pharrell directly, and that he had no animosity toward Pharrell and that he enjoyed his prior performances at the hotel.
Sources close to Pharrell say that “The event was attempted to be hosted at the Cavalier, and for various reasons, the hotel was not able to accommodate the event. It will be moved to another location later this month.”
