• The comedian, 49, hosted SNL for the third time on Saturday with Black Star as the musical guest.
• Chappelle’s 15-minute opening monologue centered on West’s anti-Semitic sentiments.
• “Chappelle said he usually calls West when he’s in trouble, but he didn’t this time.

Dave Chappelle returned to SNL and didn’t avoid controversy.

The comedian, 49, hosted SNL for the third time on Saturday with Black Star as the musical guest.

Chappelle’s 15-minute opening monologue centered on West’s anti-Semitic sentiments. First, Chappelle unfolded a little piece of paper and read from it “I condemn all antisemitism. I support Jewish friends. Kanye, that’s how you buy time.”

Chappelle said he usually calls West when he’s in trouble, but he didn’t this time. He also discussed NBA player Kyrie Irving, who was banned by the Brooklyn Nets after sharing a link to an anti-Semitic video on social media. He closed his monologue by declaring he no longer loves performing in front of huge audiences “Talking about anything shouldn’t be terrifying. It’s a huge hassle.”

There were allegations that SNL staffers were boycotting Chappelle’s hosting engagement, but a Chappelle spokeswoman told CNN: “There’s no evidence of a writer’s boycott. The authors presented Dave with about 40 skits. You won’t want to miss Dave’s SNL return.”

Chappelle portrayed a barber and “Black Heaven” in comedy.

Chappelle’s Show characters also appeared in a promo for House of the Dragon season 2. Chappelle hosted SNL in 2016 and 2020, winning an Emmy each time. Meanwhile, Black Star debuted on SNL. The ensemble played “So Be It” early in the concert and “The Main Thing Is to Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing” afterwards.

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