Lorne Michaels as soon as once more turned to stand-up vet Dave Chappelle to host Saturday Night Live this week.
With floundering scores, it’s no surprise the present would attain out to Chappelle. Historically, he’s been an enormous draw for the present, and his takes virtually at all times draw headlines. (See above!) Indeed, folks have been itching to listen to his ideas on Ye particularly since they’re each wealthy, Black, and have been referred to as out for saying inappropriate issues.
The largest chunk of Chappelle’s monologue on Saturday was dedicated to that very subject. He begins out with a denunciation of antisemitism in all its kinds, then follows it up with, “…and that, Kanye, is how you buy yourself some time.” In traditional Chappelle vogue, he skirts perilously near the road between telling jokes about Jewish tradition and mocking it. He additionally leaves it ambiguous as to how a lot he’s defending Black celebrities being antisemitic — Kyrie Irving, whom the NBA compelled to apologize for related conduct, can be pulled into the dialog — and the way a lot he’s denouncing it.
Chappelle makes time to speak about Trump – ironic, because it adopted a chilly open that made clear how irrelevant Trump now could be. Of course, James Austin Johnson nonetheless performed Trump, so perhaps that’s one other blurred line? He touches on Ukraine, saying that Russia shedding the conflict can be like America shedding a conflict to Colorado. (Though it will not be such a good comparability. Given the variety of dispensaries there, the U.S. Army may simply lose their method by the haze of smoke over the state.)
The most irritating factor might be that, regardless of Chappelle’s willingness to delve into controversial matters, and regardless of having been in a scenario similar to Ye’s personal — one would possibly even say each males had been “cancelled” (although Chappelle nonetheless has a Netflix deal, whereas it stays to be seen how Ye is doing a 12 months from now) — he’s unwilling to speak about his personal troubles. (Since the final time he hosted SNL, Chappelle ignited controversy with an October 2021 Netflix comedy particular which some felt contained “dangerously transphobic” feedback.)
He ends his monologue by calling out the mysterious “They” — a reference to trans folks and organizations he’s repeatedly crossed — who’ve been taking away his freedom to talk freely. The most clear signal that Chappelle nonetheless doesn’t have a deal with on trans points might be that he gained’t even name one other well-known Black man by the identify he’s chosen. To Dave, Ye will at all times be Kanye, whether or not he likes it or not.
NBC has launched no video of the monologue; within the meantime, grade this weekend’s episode beloew.
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