Dave Chappelle, hosting NBC's "Saturday Night Live" for the third time, kicked off the show with a roughly 15-minute monologue that tackled hip-hop artist Ye's antisemitic comments, the midterm elections and former President Donald Trump's political appeal.
The comedian, known for courting controversy and defying his most vocal critics, did not directly address the furor over his commentsabout the transgender community in a Netflix comedy special released last year.
Chappelle took the stage inside Rockefeller Center's Studio 8H and started his monologue with an extended riff on Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, who has been widely condemned for making a series of antisemitic comments.
The comedian read a brief statement: "I denounce antisemitism in all its forms and I stand with my friends in the Jewish community — and that, Kanye, is how you buy yourself some time."
Chappelle mocked Ye as well as Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving, who posted a link to an antisemitic movie on Twitter. But some of Chappelle's commentary seemed designed at least in part to shock and provoke.
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