At the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Georgetown, the students don’t want DAVE CHAPPELLE’s money. The high school planned a fundraiser with its famed alum for Nov. 23 to raise money for a new theater named after the comedian, but quietly canceled the event due to an uproar over remarks he made about transgender people in his recent Netflix special, “The Closer.” Now here’s the backstory: Two students tell Playbook that their peers got into a heated debate with faculty after being told that they were expected to help assemble an exhibition to honor Chappelle on the same day as the fundraiser. With many of their classmates identifying as LGBTQ+, the students were uncomfortable supporting the comic, and some even talked about staging a walkout if the tribute went forward. Ellington ended up canceling the fundraiser, even though an invite had already been sent to multiple patrons. Chappelle, a graduate of Ellington, has credited the school with saving his life, donated $100,000 to his alma mater, gave it one of his Emmy awards in 2017, delivered a commencement address for the school, held a master class for students and regularly visited its campus with fellow celebs, like BRADLEY COOPER and CHRIS TUCKER.