Dave Chappelle accused of normalizing anti-Semitism in ‘SNL’ monologue
Dave Chappelle is being accused of normalizing anti-Semitism while hosting “Saturday Night Live” over the weekend.
The CEO of the Anti-Defamation League publicly criticized Chappelle, 49, after the comedian spent the majority of his 15-minute monologue discussing his friend Kanye West and the trouble that the rapper, 45, found himself in after tweeting in October that he wanted to go “death con 3” on Jewish people.
“We shouldn’t expect @DaveChappelle to serve as society’s moral compass, but disturbing to see @nbcsnl not just normalize but popularize #antisemitism,” Jonathan Greenblatt tweeted on Sunday.
The executive, 51, then asked, “Why are Jewish sensitivities denied or diminished at almost every turn? Why does our trauma trigger applause?”
Chappelle also faced swift backlash from various publications and writers.
“American comedian Dave Chappelle said during his SNL monologue that he ‘denounces antisemitism in all its forms’… before promptly engaging in antisemitic tropes,” the Jerusalem Post tweeted.
“That Dave Chappelle SNL monologue probably did more to normalize anti-Semitism than anything Kanye said,” Time Out New York theater editor Adam Feldman echoed, adding in another tweet that while West is “nuts,” Chappelle “posits himself as a teller of difficult truths,” which is “worse.”
The former “Chappelle’s Show” star began his monologue on Saturday by taking out a folded piece of paper and reading aloud a statement “denouncing anti-Semitism in all forms,” but the crowd found it to be more funny than an actual statement of his beliefs.
“And that, Kanye, is how you buy yourself some time,” Chappelle said after reading the two-sentence note.
The stand-up comic then talked in detail about Jewish people in Hollywood as well as West’s controversial remarks, which have caused the Yeezy designer to lose lucrative deals with Adidas and other companies.
“Early in my career, I learned that there are two words in the English language that you should never say together in sequence. Those words are ‘the’ and ‘Jews,'” he said.
Chappelle explained that he “grew up around Jewish people,” so he is “not freaked out by your culture.” He then referred to Shabbat, Judaism’s day of rest, as “Sha na na.”
The “Dave Chappelle’s Block Party” star also dove into how West broke “show business rules.”
“You know, the rules of perception. If they’re black, then it’s a gang. If they’re Italian, it’s a mob. But if they’re Jewish, it’s a coincidence and you should never speak about it,” he said.
“I’ve been to Hollywood, and — no one get mad at me — I’m just telling you what I saw. It’s a lot of Jews. Like, a lot. But that doesn’t mean anything! You know what I mean? Just because there are a lot of black people in Ferguson, Missouri, it doesn’t mean we run the place.”
Chappelle said “it’s not a crazy thing to think” about how Jewish people “run show business,” but it is a “crazy thing to say out loud in a climate like this.”
Chappelle previously flew to Wyoming to see West after Ye went on a Twitter rant, but he explained on “SNL” that he did not “pull up immediately” to see him this time.
“I don’t think Kanye is crazy at all,” he clarified. “I think he’s possibly not well.”
Chappelle’s hosting gig was met with mixed reviews after he faced severe backlash for making transphobic and homophobic jokes in his 2021 Netflix special.
A source recently told Page Six that some of “SNL”‘s writers were so upset by the decision to tap the divisive funnyman as host that they were “not going to do the show.”
