The January 18 episode of “Saturday Night time Dwell” was a reminder that the standard of the present and its humor aren’t at all times dictated by writers or common forged members, however typically by what the host is prepared to convey to the night. And what did host Dave Chappelle present for his fourth spherical headlining Studio 8H? Not a lot past his personal vainness.
Following a chilly open that noticed MSNBC anchors unable to maintain from taking part within the media feeding frenzy spewed out by President Trump (Sarah Sherman, Marcello Hernandez, Ego Nwodim, Chloe Fineman, and Andrew Dismukes), Chappelle took the primary stage for a monologue that lasted 17 minutes, the longest ever on report at “SNL.” At a sure level, it appeared doable Chappelle had gone rogue and would possibly use all the allotted time simply to carry out rise up.
So far as the precise contents of that materials and studio viewers’s response — to not point out at-home viewers — Chappelle’s jokes weren’t solely hit-or-miss, however ranged from extremely offensive to downright inaudible (Chappelle is a recognized smoker, the behavior now noticeably impacting his voice). The monologue additionally turned severe, from the wildfires in Southern California to the demise of thirty ninth President Jimmy Carter, in addition to the upcoming re-inauguration of Donald Trump. Whereas Chappelle did supply his sorrow for victims of the fireplace, regardless of claiming he was “uninterested in being controversial,” he additionally couldn’t assist however poke enjoyable at these struggling proper now, casting explicit ire on the LGBTQ group.
“When you have been a rational, considering individual, you must a minimum of think about the chance that God hates these folks. Sodomites,” mentioned Chappelle. “That’s not true as a result of West Hollywood was unscathed. As a result of how are you going to burn what’s already flaming?”
Many in studio cackled, however utilizing a tragic pure catastrophe to elicit hate for a group that’s already beneath assault day-after-day felt sickening and besmirched the rest of the present. Even after Chappelle memorialized Carter as “an amazing man” for wanting to finish Palestinian struggling and went on to name for “empathy” for not solely the folks of the Palisades, but additionally the folks of Palestine, it was laborious to maneuver previous his inconsistent hateful rhetoric.
Fortunately, Chappelle wasn’t too current for the rest of the episode, solely collaborating in two reside sketches and one pre-taped bit that revived his pimp character from “The Chappelle Present,” Silky Johnson. One other sketch that includes Kenan Thompson, Devon Walker, Mikey Day, and Bowen Yang additionally appeared written for Chappelle, however didn’t embrace him. Government producer Lorne Michaels might imagine Chappelle is a bunch viewers look ahead to, however this newest show didn’t help that. Because the present prepares to rejoice “SNL 50,” it is likely to be time for somebody new on the reins.
Watch Chappelle’s total monologue under.