Dave Chappelle hosted Saturday Night Live on Saturday (November 12) and spent the majority of his 15-minute monologue addressing Kanye West’s anti-Semitism controversy. Chappelle began with a disclaimer: “I denounce anti-Semitism in all its forms. And I stand with my friends in the Jewish community.” As he continued, the famed comedian brought up Ye’s mental health issues and dismissed the notion it wasn’t an “excuse” for his recent behavior, saying, “Yes it is b####.”
He went on, “I don’t think Kanye is crazy at all. I think he’s possibly not well. I’ve been to Hollywood—I don’t want you to get mad at me; 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. Doesn’t mean we run the place.
“I could see if you had some kind of issue, you might go out to Hollywood and you might start connecting some kind of lines and you could maybe adopt the delusional that Jews run show business. It’s not a crazy thing to think—but it’s a crazy thing to say out loud in a climate like this.”
Chappelle also acknowledged West’s inflammatory tweet that ultimately cost him his billionaire status and collaborative relationships with Gap and Adidas.
“Vaguely, I remember it started with a tweet, a strange tweet,” he said. “It was like, ‘I’m feeling a little sleepy, I’m gonna get me some rest, but when I wake up, I’m going to go Defcon 3 on the Jews!’ And then he just went to bed. I was up all night, worried. ‘What is he going to do to the Jews?'”
Despite the fallout from West’s comments, he continues to grant interviews to anyone willing to listen. Most recently, he told a paparazzo he could say “whatever” he wants and not go to jail, while claiming several celebrities such as Beyoncé, JAY-Z and LeBron James were controlled by Hollywood.
As Chappelle noted, West is likely suffering from symptoms related to his bipolar diagnosis. But at this point, a growing number of people are no longer willing to give him a pass.
