Anti-Defamation League President Responds To Dave Chappelle’s “Saturday Night Live” Opening Monologue
Back in the early days of Saturday Night Live, the cast used to do everything short of having an orgy before performing their live skits, and that spirit of “Who Gives A Fuck?!” energy has been resurrected in recent years. But no more than when caustic comic Dave Chappelle took the reins as host this past weekend. Ahead of his appearance, several SNL writers reportedly tapped out of his episode over his past controversies. We already know Dave says what he wants, smokes whatever he has in his hand, and makes a swift exit before anyone can throw a rotten tomato at him. But his recent monologue for last week’s SNL episode, where he referenced GoFundMe candidate Kanye West‘s anti-Semitic sentiments, has gotten him into trouble with the Anti-Defamation League and its president Jonathan Goldblatt.
People reports that Dave decided his opening monologue needed an inappropriate boost so he chose to comment on Kanye’s tirade, which was probably the second worse decision after one of Kanye’s employees requested to hear a Drake song at work. Big Mistake, Dave. BIG. But honestly, whenever Kanye speaks, it’s a regurgitated alphabet soup of words and sounds that don’t make any sense. But that doesn’t mean Dave won’t say it, though.
Chappelle, 49, opened his routine by unfolding a paper note and declaring, “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.” After that, he said he would contact West, 45, during times of controversy, though this time he opted not to. Last month, West shared in now-deleted social media posts that he wanted to go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE,” before going on a string of podcast and television appearances where he continued to share antisemitic rhetoric.
In his monologue, Chappelle said that there are “two words in the English language that you should never say together in sequence: ‘The’ and ‘Jews.'”
“I’ve been to Hollywood and — no one get mad at me — I’m just telling you what I saw,” he said. “It’s a lot of Jews. Like a lot. But that doesn’t mean anything! You know what I mean? Because there are a lot of Black people in Ferguson, Missouri, it doesn’t mean we run the place.”
Dave and Controversy are solid as a rock like Ashford & Simpson. And although he’s on a mission to talk about everyone (because he does, and he has been canceled more times than a Netflix subscription), the Anti-Defamation League did not appreciate Dave’s comments at all. And their president Jonathan Greenblatt made for damn sure he let Dave know that they didn’t find anything funny about his monologue.
Jonathan Greenblatt, the head of the Jewish civil rights organization, shared his thoughts via Twitter on Sunday about the monologue, during which Chappelle spoke about Kanye West’s antisemitic comments.
“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. “Why are Jewish sensitivities denied or diminished at almost every turn? Why does our trauma trigger applause?”
We shouldn't expect @DaveChappelle to serve as society's moral compass, but disturbing to see @nbcsnl not just normalize but popularize #antisemitism. Why are Jewish sensitivities denied or diminished at almost every turn? Why does our trauma trigger applause?
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) November 13, 2022
I’m sure Jonathan thinks he’s taking a stand, but Dave is probably too high to notice or care. Remember, this is the man who brought us both Chappelle’s Show and Half Baked. If anything, he’s been at his laptop since yesterday, writing a scathing bit against the Anti-Defamation League for a new comedy special titled Meshuggeneh Mayhem.
Here’s his whole monologue:
Pic: NBC