Dave Chappelle's imminent hosting slot reportedly drives some SNL writers to boycott - The A.V. Club

As Saturday Night Live prepares to invited Dave Chappelle backmost into Studio 8H, immoderate writers are reportedly stepping backmost successful response. Chappelle is acceptable to big the November 12 amusement alongside philharmonic impermanent Black Star, a determination that’s already caused nationalist backlash fixed Chappelle’s well-documented transphobia.

A root reportedly adjacent to Saturday Night Live shares that determination are unit writers who are “not going to bash the show,” but “none of the actors are boycotting,” per Page Six.

In caller years, Chappelle has go known for unapologetically transphobic comedy, a harmful contented prime helium has consistently and publically doubled down on. Chappelle besides led Netflix into blistery h2o for repeatedly platforming his comments. His 2021 Netflix peculiar The Closer—which features respective jokes wherever Chappelle asserts that trans women are not existent women—prompted a corporate of Netflix’s trans employees to signifier a walkout successful protest.

Saturday Night Live has aggregate queer formed members, and conscionable this twelvemonth welcomed their archetypal non-binary subordinate successful comedian Molly Kearney. No formed members person made immoderate nationalist statements condemning the show, arsenic of yet. However, astatine slightest 1 SNL employee, writer Celeste Yim, shared a connection to their Instagram Story that seemingly alluded to the Chappelle announcement.

“I’m trans and non-binary,” Yim wrote, alongside a representation of them connected the occupation astatine 30 Rockefeller Plaza. “I usage they/them pronouns. Transphobia is execution and it should beryllium condemned.”

Despite each the stirrings of backlash, a typical for Chappelle paints a antithetic picture. According to the comedian’s rep, a Tuesday writer’s gathering preparing for the amusement indicated “no evidence” of a boycott brewing amongst writers and cast.

“The country was afloat of writers,” the rep tells Page Six. “They each pitched ideas and they seemed precise excited astir it… Dave is looking to person immoderate fun.”