Dave Chappelle tackles Ye, denounces antisemitism on 'SNL'

From one controversial figure to another, Dave Chappelle opened his "Saturday Night Live" hosting appearance by discussing Ye.

"I denounce antisemitism in all its forms. I stand with my friends in the Jewish community," Chappelle said, before turning to the camera as he added, "And that Kanye is how you buy yourself some time."

The comedian said he grew up around Jewish people so he's "not freaked out by your culture."

"Why do some people in your culture dress like RUN DMC?" he jokingly added.

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Chappelle brought the show back to Ye and the "Drink Champs" podcast last month in which the rapper declared, "I can say antisemitic things and Adidas won't drop me."

"They dropped him immediately," the comedian said. "Ironically Adidas was founded by Nazis and even they were offended. I guess the students have surpassed the teachers."

In another quip about Ye, Chappelle argued that people with mental illness have committed murder so he doesn't share the sentiment that mental illness is not an excuse for antisemitism.

"I don't think Kanye is crazy at all," he added. "I think he's possibly not well."

Chappelle said the "crazy" part about Ye is that he said antisemitic things "out loud."

In a barbershop-style skit, Kenan Thompson's character said, "Ye lost me when he wore that white lives matter shirt."

Ego Nwodim's character added, "Right, or when he said that mess about George Floyd."

"And his comments about Jewish people. I mean way off the mark. … I set all my Yeezy's on fire. I mean they're only sneakers right?" Michael Longfellow's character said, to which the rest of the barbershop went silent.

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In his opening monologue, Chappelle didn't go nearly as hard on politicians in his post-midterm "SNL" appearance compared to his 2020 post-election "SNL" hosting gig.

He briefly joked about Republican Herschel Walker's bid for Senate in Georgia by calling him "observably stupid."

Chappelle also called former president Donald Trump an "honest liar."

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Chappelle's "SNL" appearance initially drew controversy due to past transphobic remarks. His standup special, "The Closer," sparked outrage and debates surrounding his remarks about the LGBTQ+ community, in particular his focus on the transgender community. Chappelle's comments led to a walkout from Netflix employees in protest when co-CEO Ted Sarandos doubled down on his defense of it.

In the special, Chappelle also attempted to juxtapose the pace of civil rights gained by LGBTQ+ people over those fought for by the Black community and expressed solidarity with "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling, who drew backlash in 2019 for conflating sex with gender.

In May, Chappelle was attacked onstage at the Hollywood Bowl during the Netflix Is A Joke festival. Isaiah Lee, who was charged with assault with a deadly weapon after pointing a replica handgun at Chappelle, told the New York Post the comedian's set was "triggering" for him. Lee denied having the weapon drawn when he approached the comedian.

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"I identify as bisexual … and I wanted him to know what he said was triggering," Lee told the outlet. "I wanted him to know that next time, he should consider first running his material by people it could affect."

Lee also claimed he went to the show at the Hollywood Bowl to have a "good time," but became increasingly upset as Chappelle allegedly joked about his controversy regarding the LGBTQ community, homelessness and pedophilia.

The day after the attack, Chappelle responded through his rep Carla Sims and said he refused to allow the incident to overshadow the magic of this historic moment."

"As unfortunate and unsettling as the incident was, Chappelle went on with the show," Sims said.

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The backlash continued as students at his high school alma mater criticized Chappelle in November, when the school's Duke Ellington School of Arts was supposed to be named after him. In June, he announced the theater would instead be named the "Theater of Artistic Freedom & Expression."

Chappelle said the criticism from students "sincerely hurt me." Netflix posted footage of the comedian's speech in July in a nearly 39-minute feature titled "What's in a Name," currently streaming on the platform.

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Contributing: Jenna Ryu, Elise Brisco, Charles Trepany

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dave Chappelle centers 'SNL' monologue on Kanye, antisemitism