Dave Chappelle denounces Kanye’s anti-Jew remarks but not his own transphobic jokes

Los Angeles, Nov 13 (IANS) Comedian Dave Chappelle delivered a 15-minute monologue as host of the recent episode of ‘Saturday Night Live’.

He used his set to speak on current events, but declined to discuss anything related to anti-trans jokes he told which triggered controversy, reports Variety.

Chappelle generated anger last year after the October release of ‘The Closer’, which included harmful remarks from the 49-year-old comedian about the transgender community and prompted immediate reaction from Netflix staffers.

According to Variety, this included a staged walkout from transgender Netflix employees and allies after the streamer’s chief content officer Ted Sarandos defended Chappelle’s harmful jokes as artistic expression, supporting his “creative freedom.”

Chappelle spent the first stretch of his monologue commenting on Kanye West’s recent anti-Semitic remarks, opening by saying: “Before I start tonight, I wanted to read a brief statement that I prepared: ‘I renounce anti-Semitism in all its forms, and stand with my friends in the Jewish community.’ And that, Kanye, is how you buy yourself some time.”

He then proceeded to tell jokes about Kanye’s anti-semitism scandal, as well as Kyrie Irving’s recent anti-semitic tweet and apology.

Variety further states that Chappelle also told a few jokes that made the audience gasp, including: “I’ve been to Hollywood and this is just 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, but that doesn’t mean we run the place.”

He then ended his set by saying: “I thank you for your support and I hope they don’t take anything away from me – whoever they are.”

This was Chappelle’s third hosting stint on ‘Saturday Night Live’ and all three gigs came the same week as a contentious national election.

–IANS

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