‘SNL’ Slammed for Dave Chappelle Monologue: “Popularizing Antisemitism”

Dave Chappelle was on TV again.

This time, the divisive comic spent the bulk of an extended monologue on Saturday Night Live giving his thoughts on Kanye “Ye” West’s rants about the Jewish community.

On Sunday, the Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt criticized the NBC program, accusing the late-night staple of “popularizing antisemitism.”

“We shouldn’t expect @DaveChappelle to serve as society’s moral compass, but disturbing to see @nbcsnl not just normalize but popularize #antisemitism,” he wrote on Twitter. “Why are Jewish sensitivities denied or diminished at almost every turn? Why does our trauma trigger applause?”

The Jerusalem Post tweeted: “The American comedian Dave Chappelle said during his SNL monologue that he ‘denounces antisemitism in all its forms’… before promptly engaging in antisemitic tropes.”

While Time Out New York 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 nuts. Chappelle posits himself as a teller of difficult truths. It’s worse.”

Yet Tangle News founder Isaac Saul tweeted: “Let me be the first Jew to say: Dave Chappelle’s SNL open last night was hilarious, timely, honest, and a reminder that he still understands this country better than a lot of people whose whole job is to understand the country. It’s okay to acknowledge there are a lot of Jews in media and Hollywood. And like Dave said, you can simultaneously note that it’s very stupid to think this means they are in some cabal controlling the world.”

Chappelle’s 15-minute monologue has racked up 3.2 million views in less than 24 hours on YouTube – more than any other SNL video since last May. It included comments such as Chappelle saying Ye broke “the show business 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.” (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 doesn’t mean anything! There’s a lot of Black people in Ferguson, Missouri. Doesn’t mean they run the place.” The comedian said he understood how somebody could “adopt the delusion” that Jewish people “run show business … it’s not a crazy thing to think. But it’s a crazy thing to say out loud in a climate like this.”

Chappelle also discussed NBA star Kyrie Irving, who recently was suspended from the Brooklyn Nets after he shared a link to the documentary Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America, a film that contains antisemitic sentiments. “He was slow to apologize,” Chappelle said. “And then the list of demands to get back in their good graces got longer and longer, and this is where I draw the line: I know the Jewish people have been through terrible things all over the world, but you can’t blame that on black Americans. You just can’t.”

Before the monologue, Chappelle unfolded a piece of paper and read a dutiful statement — “I denounce antisemitism in all its forms, and I stand with my friends in the Jewish community” — and then added, “And that, Kanye, is how you buy yourself some time.”

The uproar follows Chappelle receiving considerable blowback for two Netflix specials where he criticized the trans rights movement and made jokes that many felt were transphobic.

Last year, Chappelle won an Emmy Award for, ironically enough, hosting Saturday Night Live.

The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to NBC for comment.