Dave Chappelle ‘SNL’ Monologue Condemned by Anti-Defamation League CEO as Backlash Grows - IndieWire

Dave Chappelle’s latest “Saturday Night Live” monologue is predictably opening to pull controversy, but not for the reasons that galore expected it would. The comedian managed to steer wide of the sex and sexuality-related issues that often get him into trouble, but his jokes astir America’s caller problems with antisemitism person generated immoderate backlash that lone appears to beryllium growing.

Chappelle devoted a sizeable information of his 15-minute monologue making amusive of Kanye West and Kyrie Irving for their caller antisemitic remarks. He began by mocking their PR blunders, pointing retired that Kanye should person apologized to “buy himself immoderate time” and joking that the rapper was truthful antisemitic that Irving got successful occupation by association.

The comedian past proceeded to explicate wherefore helium sees antisemitism, peculiarly the thought that Jewish radical collectively tally the world, arsenic a flawed ideology. He utilized examples of anti-Black racism successful assorted parts of America arsenic grounds that having a ample quantity of radical of a definite ethnicity successful a fixed country does not needfully equate to power.

“I’ve been to Hollywood and this is conscionable what I saw: It’s a batch of Jews, similar a lot,” helium said. “But that doesn’t mean anything. There’s a batch of Black radical successful Ferguson, Missouri, but that doesn’t mean we tally the place.”

The monologue began to pull immoderate disapproval connected societal media connected Sunday, with immoderate Jewish leaders and commenters lambasting Chappelle for making airy of a superior topic. Some felt that explaining a racist ideology, adjacent successful a comedic mode meant to debunk it, worked to unnecessarily normalize a toxic mode of thinking.

Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, took to Twitter to condemn Chappelle’s remarks. His enactment had antecedently enactment retired ceremonial statements condemning West and Irving’s comments, and helium utilized his ain level to explicit regret astir Chappelle telling jokes astir anti-semitism.

“We shouldn’t expect Dave Chappelle to service arsenic society’s motivation compass, but disturbing to spot ‘SNL’ not conscionable normalize but popularize antisemitism,” he wrote. “Why are Jewish sensitivities denied oregon diminished astatine astir each turn? Why does our trauma trigger applause?”

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