Dave Chappelle was back on TV.
This time, the divisive comic devoted most of an extended monologue to Saturday Night Live giving his views on Kanye “Ye” West’s diatribes about the Jewish community.
On Sunday, Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt criticized the NBC program, accusing the nighttime staple of “popularizing anti-Semitism.”
“We shouldn’t expect @DaveChappelle to serve as society’s moral compass, but it’s disturbing to see @nbcsnl not only normalizing #anti-Semitism, but also popularizing it,” he says. wrote on Twitter. “Why are Jewish sensitivities denied or diminished almost every time? Why does our trauma evoke applause?”
The Jerusalem Post tweeted: “American comedian Dave Chappelle said during his SNL monologue that he ‘denounces anti-Semitism in all its forms’…before promptly engaging in anti-Semitic tropes.”
While New York time out theater editor and critic Adam Feldman tweeted: “That Dave Chappelle SNL monologue probably did more to normalize anti-Semitism than anything Kanye said. Everyone knows Kanye is crazy. Chappelle positions himself as a teller of difficult truths. It’s worse.”
Still Tangle News founder Isaac Saul tweeted“Let me be the first Jew to say: Dave Chappelle’s SNL that opened last night was hilarious, timely, honest and a reminder that he still understands this country better than many people whose whole job is to understand the country. It’s okay to recognize that there are a lot of Jews in the media and Hollywood. And as Dave said, at the same time you can notice that it’s very stupid to think that means they’re in some clique that controls the world.”
Chappelle’s 15-minute monologue has been viewed 3.2 million times on YouTube in less than 24 hours – more than any other SNL video since last May. It featured comments such as Chappelle saying that Ye has “broken show business perception rules…if they’re black, then it’s a gang. If they’re Italians, it’s a gang. But if they’re Jewish, that’s a coincidence and you should never talk about it.” (For full context, the monologue is below).
He added: “I’ve been to Hollywood … this is what I saw: it’s a lot of Jews. Like, a lot. But that means nothing! There are many black people in Ferguson, Missouri. That doesn’t mean they’re running the business.” The comedian said he understood how anyone could “take the fancy” that Jewish people “run show business…it’s not crazy to think.” But it’s crazy to say that out loud in a climate like this.”
Chappelle also discussed NBA star Kyrie Irving, who was recently suspended from the Brooklyn Nets after sharing a link to the documentary Hebrews for Negroes: Wake Up Black America, a film that contains anti-Semitic sentiments. “He was slow to apologize,” Chappelle said. “And then the list of demands to come back into their good graces got longer and longer, and this is where I draw the line: I know the Jewish people all over the world have been through terrible things, but you can’t blame me. take on black Americans. You just can’t.”
Before the monologue, Chappelle unfolded a piece of paper and read out a dutiful statement – “I condemn anti-Semitism in all its forms, and I stand behind my friends in the Jewish community” – then added, “And that, Kanye, is how you buy yourself some time.”
The uproar follows Chappelle receiving a serious backlash for two Netflix specials in which he criticized the trans rights movement and made jokes that many believed were transphobic.
Last year, Chappelle won an Emmy Award for, ironically, hosting Saturday Night Live.
