Dave Chappelle Says ‘SNL’ Producers Forbade Him From Talking About Gaza And Trans People

Natalie Oganesyan

16 February 2025 at 7:13 pm·2-min read

Just a month removed from his recent Saturday Night Live appearance, where he delivered an over 15-minute monologue, Dave Chappelle said he was forbidden by the late-night show’s producers from speaking on two topics.

Per SFGate’s senior culture editor Dan Gentile, who saw the comedian at the first of his three San Francisco stand-up appearances at the Masonic, Chappelle alleged he was not allowed to speak about Gaza and transgender people.

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NBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The former stipulation presents a shocking instance of censorship, given that Chappelle has previously deemed the crisis a “genocide,” something Western media has been reluctant to do despite alarm bells by organizations like Amnesty International.

Despite this, Chappelle’s monologue did mention Palestine, as his closing moments called for greater empathy from everyone, including President Donald Trump. “The presidency is no place for petty people, so Donald Trump — I know you watch the show — man, remember, whether people voted for you or not, they’re all counting on you; whether they like you or not, they’re all counting on you. The whole world is counting on you. I mean this when I say this, good luck, please, do better next time. Please, all of us, do better next time. Do not forget your humanity and please have empathy for displaced people, whether they’re in the Palisades or Palestine,” he said.

“In his San Francisco set, he didn’t go on to elaborate much more on Gaza except to close with ‘Give the Jews a break, free Palestine’ before literally dropping the mic,” Gentile wrote.

Given the controversial comedian’s previous relentless punching down of trans individuals in Netflix special The Closer and beyond, which included slurs and defending J.K. Rowling’s known anti-trans stance in which he said he was “team TERF [trans-exclusionary radical feminist],” it’s not entirely surprising that executive producer Lorne Michaels would want to avoid backlash ahead of the storied Season 50 festivities.

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