While hosting Saturday Night Live yesterday (January 18), Dave Chappelle addressed President-elect Donald Trump, urging him to govern with “empathy”.
Last night’s stint marks the comedian’s fourth time hosting the show since 2016, notably his first appearance on an episode that didn’t air the same week as an election. Airing just two days before Trump’s inauguration, he addressed him directly in his monologue, as well as taking aim at Diddy and broaching the Los Angeles wildfires.
“It’s a tough one, you know what I mean?” he said. “Because I’m tired of being controversial. I’m trying to turn over a new leaf. And it is way too soon to do jokes about a catastrophe like that. It is.”
Two devastating fires continue to burn in the city, having started on January 7. To date, a total of 27 people have lost their lives, while 200,000 residents have been forced to evacuate their homes and more than 12,000 structures have been damaged.
Dave Chappelle’s monologue! pic.twitter.com/qSkjGsfnv1
— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) January 19, 2025
Members of the LA music community have also spoken to NME about being hit hard, with a number of venues, studios and artists being affected by the blaze.
Noting that many of his peers had lost their homes, Chappelle joked: “Then I go on the internet and I watch these fire videos, and I read the comment sections and everyone’s like, ‘Yeah, it serves these celebrities right! I hope their houses burn down!’ You see that? That right there? That’s why I hate poor people.”
He continued to joke that that damage estimates – thought to be in the billions – were so high “because people in L.A. have nice stuff”, whereas he said he could “burn 40,000 acres in Mississippi for $600, $700.”
He went on to say rational, thinking people would have to “at least consider the possibility that God hates these people,” adding: “‘Sodomites!’ No, that’s not true, because West Hollywood was unscathed. Because how can you burn what is already flaming?”
He later set his sights on disgraced rap mogul Diddy, who previously pleaded not guilty to an indictment that has seen him charged with racketeering and sex trafficking. He has, through legal representatives, denied all allegations against him to date. Should he be found guilty, he could face 15 years to life in prison.
“A lot of my friends asked me, ‘Dave, did you know anything about those freakoff parties?’” Chappelle said. “I’d be like, ‘No, man. I don’t know anything about freakoffs.’”
He went on to say that after thinking about it, he realised: “‘Oh, my god! I’m ugly!’”
“Boy, that is a tough way to find that out,” he said. “Can you imagine, me reading the newspaper and you found out everyone in Hollywood had an orgy behind your back?”
Chappelle closed out the show by addressing Trump, referencing the death of Jimmy Carter and urging him not to forget his “humanity”.
“Here’s the thing: On Monday, Donald Trump’s coming back,” he said (transcribed by Rolling Stone). “He’ll be the 47th president. He’s done it again. And all the flags will be half staff because Jimmy Carter died. Jimmy Carter – people go back and forth and say he was a bad president or a good president. I’m not qualified to speak on that. But I’ll tell you this: I was in the Middle East years ago after I quit my show. I was trying to find out what I wanted to do with my life.
“While I was there, Jimmy Carter flew to Israel. So everybody in the region was talking about a former American president being in the Middle East. And while he was in Israel, a book of his was released, and its title was very controversial in Israel. And the title of the book was ‘Palestine: Peace, Not Apartheid.’”
Last year, fans walked out after he criticised Israel at stand-up show. The Wall Street Journal reported that the comedian first condemned the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants during an October show at TD Garden, then reportedly criticised Israel for what he said were war crimes in Gaza, and accused the United States of aiding the slaughter of innocent civilians.
His ‘SNL’ speech continued: “People were very mad in Israel. There were a lot of mean stories that came out in the paper. Some people were supportive. While he was there, Jimmy Carter said, ‘I want to go to the Palestinian territory’, and the Israeli government said, ‘It’s too dangerous, and if you go, we cannot protect you.’ And then Jimmy Carter went anyway.
I will never forget the images of a former American president walking with little to no security while thousands of Palestinians were cheering him on. When I saw that picture, it brought tears to my eyes. I said, I don’t know if that’s a good president, but that right there, I am sure, is a great man.
It made me feel very proud. The presidency is no place for petty people. So, Donald Trump, I know you watch the show. Man, remember: Whether people voted for you or not, they’re all counting on you. Whether they like you or not, they’re all counting on you. The whole world is counting on you.
I mean this when I say this: Good luck. Please, do better next time. Please, all of us: Do better next time. Do not forget your humanity, and please have empathy for displaced people, whether they’re in the Palisades or Palestine.”
