The national director of the Jewish civil rights organization Anti-Defamation League has expressed concern over comedian Dave Chappelle’s opening monologue last night on Saturday Night Lilve.
Chappelle, a controversial comedian who has been accused in the past of being insensitive about his observations of trans people, Jews, blacks and others, has taken a long time to snub SNL regarding recent issues with rapper/entrepreneur Kanye West and basketball player Kyrie Irving to open.
“We shouldn’t expect @DaveChapelle serving as a moral compass for society, but disturbing to watch @nbcsnl not only normalize, but popularize #Anti-Semitism‘ said the ADL’s Jonathan Greenblatt in a tweet today. Why are Jewish sensibilities denied or belittled on almost every corner? Why does our trauma elicit applause?”
To begin his routine, Chappele unfolded a small piece of paper and read from it: “‘I condemn anti-Semitism in all its forms. And I stand with my friends in the Jewish community.’ And with that, Kanye, you buy yourself some time.”
Then he came to the flesh of the dentition. Chappelle noted that he came to learn that “there are two words in the English language that should never be said together: ‘The’ and ‘Jews’.”
“I’ve been to Hollywood and — no one gets mad at me — I’m just telling you what I saw,” he said, adding a characteristic pause. “There are many 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, that doesn’t mean we run the place.”
He added that the “illusion that Jews are in show business” is “not a crazy thing to think” but “it’s a crazy thing to say it out loud.” He also said of West: “It’s a big deal, he broke the rules of show business. You know, the rules of perception. If they’re black, then it’s a gang. If they’re Italian, it’s a mob. If you’re Jewish, that’s a coincidence and you should never talk about it.”
Chappelle ended his long monologue by emphasizing his point.
“It shouldn’t be that scary to talk about anything,” he said. “It makes my job incredibly difficult. And to be honest, I’m sick of talking to a crowd like this. I love you to death and thank you for your support. And I hope they don’t take anything from me…whoever they are.”
The Forward, a nonprofit media outlet focused on Jews, said the Twitter reaction to Chappelle’s routine has been mixed. It noticed the The Jerusalem Post accused the comedian of “embracing anti-Semitic tropes.” Adam Feldman, theater critic for Time Out New York, tweeted: “This monologue by Dave Chappelle SNL probably did more to normalize anti-Semitism than anything Kanye said.” Screenwriter Amalia Levari tweeted disapprovingly, “So cool that SNL gave Chappelle the stage to give a TED Talk about how good anti-Semitic dog whistles actually are.”
wrote Rabbi Josh Yuter, an influencer on Jewish Twitter: “As I understood Chappelle’s monologue, the decisive point is that there are double standards in who is allowed to say what about whom. If my Twitter feed is any indication, everyone agrees that this is an issue, although there is widespread disagreement over the details.”
Deadline has reached out to NBC for comment.
We shouldn’t expect @DaveChapelle serving as a moral compass for society, but disturbing to watch @nbcsnl not only normalize, but popularize #Anti-Semitism. Why are Jewish sensibilities denied or belittled on almost every corner? Why does our trauma elicit applause?
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) November 13, 2022