SWC Issues Statement on Dave Chappelle’s SNL Monologue

November 14, 2022

The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) condemns Dave Chappelle’s opening monologue on “Saturday Night Live” which included Kanye West’s recent anti-Semitic comments as well as engaging in other anti-Semitic tropes.

Chappelle began by stating, “I denounce antisemitism in all its forms. And I stand with my friends in the Jewish community,” before adding, “And that, Kanye, is how you buy yourself some time.”

Chappelle also quipped about Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving, who was suspended after refusing to apologize for tweeting out a link about a documentary that perpetuates anti-Semitic beliefs. He later said there were “a lot of Jews” in Hollywood.

“Dave Chappelle had the power to put anti-Semites in their place and that’s how his SNL monologue began. By the end, he mainlined some of the worst core resurgent anti-Semitic tropes,” said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean and Director of Global Social Action at SWC. “Lorne Michaels and NBC Universal should never have allowed their platform to be used to push anti-Semitic hate.”

For further information, please email Michele Alkin, Director of Global Communications at malkin@wiesenthal.com or Shawn Rodgers at srodgers@wiesenthal.com, join the Center on Facebook, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent directly to your Twitter feed. 

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is an international Jewish human rights organization numbering over 400.000 members. It holds consultative status at the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the OAS, and the Latin American Parliament (PARLATINO).