Dave Chappelle recently told a stand-up audience in San Francisco that “Saturday Night Live” producers did not want him to talk about Gaza or transgender people in his opening monologue when he hosted the show in January.
Chappelle performed last Thursday at the Masonic as part of three San Francisco dates. SF Gate described Chappelle’s claim about the monologue in a review: “‘SNL’ producers told him he couldn’t speak about two topics: transgender people and Gaza, a shocking stroke of censorship, given the political nature of the monologue.”
NBCUniversal did not immediately respond for comment.
“In his San Francisco set, he didn’t go on to elaborate much more on Gaza except to close with ‘Give the Jews a break, free Palestine’ before literally dropping the mic,” SF Gate’s Dan Gentile added.
The comedian helmed the first “SNL” episode of the year. His monologue covered a range of topics, including the Los Angeles fires, Donald Trump and Luigi Mangione. He said that an image of Jimmy Carter in Palestine “brought tears to my eyes.”
Chappelle said to Trump in the monologue, “Please do better next time.” He also addressed the audience, saying “Do not forget your humanity and please have empathy for displaced people whether they’re in the Palisades or Palestine.”
Chappelle said about the fires in his monologue, “I’m tired of being controversial. I’m trying to turn over a new leaf. It is way too soon to try to joke about a catastrophe like that…This one hits close to home.”
The comedian has been criticized for his anti-trans material in recent years.
According to SF Gate, Chappelle’s Thursday set also included mentions of Kanye West and other celebrity friends.
From Variety US