Dave Chappelle certainly didn’t pull any punches, as usual, with his opening monologue on Saturday Night Live.
The comedian opened his nearly 15 minute set by addressing Kanye West’s recent antisemitism.
“I renounce anti-semitism in all its forms – that, Kanye, is how you buy yourself some time,” he started. “I’ve been doing this 35 years. Two words in English language words you should never say – The and Jews. Noone does good after they say that.”
But in typical Chappelle form, he managed to get right up to the line himself as he continued to discuss the topic.
“I don’t think Kanye is crazy, he’s possibly not well. I’ve been to Hollywood, this is just what I saw. It’s a lot of Jews. Like a lot. There’s a lot of Black people in Ferguson, Missouri, doesn’t mean they run the place. You might go out in Hollywood and you might start connecting some kind of lines and you might adopt the delusion that Jews run showbusiness. It’s not a crazy thing to think but it’s a crazy thing to say out loud,” he said.
As he closed out his set, Chappelle, who didn’t address his own trans jokes that landed him in hot water with his last special, highlighted the difficulty talking about such subjects in today’s environment.
“It shouldn’t be this scary to talk. About anything. I’m getting sick of talking to a crowd like this. I hope they don’t take anything away from me. Whoever they are,” he added.