Chappelle gave a stand-up monologue on SNL over the weekend that discussed current topics, including recent antisemitic comments from Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West.
“I learned that there are two words you should never say in the English language, and those words are ‘The’ and ‘Jews’,” Chappelle joked. “I never heard someone do good after they did that.”
Chappelle also quipped about NBA star Kyrie Irving, who was suspended after he refused to apologize for tweeting out a link about a documentary that perpetuates antisemitic beliefs, The Hill reported
Chappelle later said there were “a lot of Jews” in Hollywood, “but that doesn’t mean anything. There’s a lot of Black people in Ferguson, Missouri, but that doesn’t mean we run the place. The illusion that the Jews run show business is not a crazy thing to think, but it is a crazy thing to say out loud in a climate like this.”
Chappelle, who said artistic freedom should be protected, has also been criticized in the past for his comments and jokes about the transgender community.
“Now the midterms are over and it’s a crazy climate. And I gotta tell you, I feel like with this midterms, like all of humanity depends on it. And it’s an ominous sign,” he joked. “The most ominous sign of the midterms I believe to be Herschel Walker, who I don’t want to speak badly of because he’s Black. But I have to admit, he’s observably stupid."
Chappelle started the show by reading a statement which said “I denounce antisemitism in all its forms and I stand with my friends in the Jewish community. And that, Kanye, is how you buy yourself some time,” Chappelle joked, according to CNN.
He went on to say that Ye had broken “the show business rules” which are “the rules of perception.”
“If they’re Black, then it’s a gang. If they’re Italian, it’s a mob,” Chappelle said. “But if they’re Jewish, it’s a coincidence and you should never speak about it.”
Writer Adam Feldman harshly criticized Chappelle on Twitter, writing that the “Dave Chappelle SNL monologue probably did more to normalize anti-Semitism than anything Kanye said.”
“Everyone knows Kanye is nuts,” he wrote. But “Chappelle posits himself as a teller of difficult truths. It’s worse.”