Dave Chappelle’s appearance on last week’s episode of Saturday Night Live has drawn some criticism after some allege his opening monologue appeared to be in support of anti-semitic views.
I watched and thought to myself “how are they allowing him to say all of this”?
He used the “n” word gratuitously, and I was under the impression he made a helluva deal with Lorne Michaels to get on national TV, NBC no less, and carry on like he was filming a Netflix special.
In his first Netflix special he spoke about why he left Comedy Central at the height of his show. He explained there was a woman at the network that served as a clearinghouse of sorts, who monitored the show’s content. He asked her how was he able to say some words, like the “n” word, and not others, like a derogatory term for a member of the LGBTQ community, and it boiled down to he could say the “n” word because he was Black and couldn’t use the other words because he didn’t belong to that community.
Then I read an article today and it made sense how he was able to pull off one of the most brilliant 15 minutes I’ve ever heard come out of his mouth.
Insiders allege Chappelle’s monologue wasn’t known to the show’s producers as he practiced an entirely different skit during rehearsals.
‘Dave does a fake monologue during the dress rehearsal because he doesn’t want [SNL creator] Lorne Michaels, or anyone else, to know what his real monologue is,’ a source claimed to Page Six.
The final version of his monologue was blasted by the Anti-Defamation League for ‘popularizing’ anti-Semitism.
In one joke, Chappelle made light of Kanye West recent anti-Semitic statements while seemingly offering him a public relations roadmap to skirting past criticism.
‘I wanted to read a statement I prepared: I denounce anti-Semitism in all its forms and stand with my friends in the Jewish community,’ the comedian began.
‘And that, Kanye, is how you buy yourself some time,’ he added to complete the joke.
I thought it was brilliant how he was able to use humor to touch on an otherwise uncomfortable conversation that has sparked mixed reactions across all social media platforms.
Chappelle said Ye broke “the show business rules [of perception],” which Chappelle described as: “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.”
Well Dave spoke on it too. In fact, he said everything Ye said and even pivoted to saying the name of the movie that got Kyrie Irving in the dog house with the NBA and his team.
To me, it seemed like Dave was ‘punching back’ at the times he couldn’t say what he wanted when he was doing the ‘Chappelle Show’ out of fear he would have the show canceled.
He was punching back at the time when people questioned his mental health and thought he was ‘crazy’ for walking away from $50 million. He was [presumably] punching back at ‘whoever they are’ trying to cancel Ye and Kyrie, and for that, I can’t wait to see what he’s gonna talk about in his comedy tour with Chris Rock next month.
Why was he able to say what he wants?
Because there’s nothing they can take from him.
2 Comments
Disappointed that you would see one community’s pain as brilliant. If you want to learn how your editorial is super harmful I have people you can speak to.
I’ve visited the Museum of Tolerance in LA and also the Underground Railroad Museum in Cincinnati. I suggest you visit the latter to understand Black peoples pain.