Send For The Sandman! 9 Celebs Who Got Rejected Or Booed Off The Apollo Stage Before Making It Big

Dave Chappelle

As a comedian, I’m sure it’s assumed that you’ll need to learn how to handle rejection, boos and hecklers early if you’re ever going to succeed, but I’m sure it always sucks when you walk into the world famous Apollo Theater amongst your people and they meet you with a resounding ‘HELL NO!” The comedian was just really getting his start and he claims he had never been booed by anyone before. According to Complex, his first time was something he would never forget:

I still remember that boo. I had never been booed off stage before. I just remember looking out and seeing everybody booing. Everybody! Even old people. Who boos a child pursuing his dreams? This is the meanest crowd in the world! Then that siren went off and the dude came out tap dancing. Sandman! I wanted to choke him! And that was the best thing that ever happened to me, because before that time, I had never bombed…after that, I was fearless.