Charlamagne Defends Dave Chappelle’s SNL Monologue, Bashes ADL For Not ‘Teaching’ What Anti-Semitic Actually Means
Charlamagne Tha God defended Dave Chappelle after he was criticized for his monologue for Saturday Night Live.
On the Monday edition of The Breakfast Club, hosts DJ Envy, Angela Yee, and Charlamagne discussed the issues surrounding Saturday’s episode.
Chappelle’s opening monologue has sparked backlash with some saying his jokes about Kanye West’s recent headline-making behavior constituted Chappelle making anti-Semitic remarks of his own.
Even the national director of the Anti-Defamation League, Jonathan Greenblatt, condemned the episode on Twitter.
“We shouldn’t expect @DaveChappelle to serve as society’s moral compass, but disturbing to see @nbcsnl not just normalize but popularize #antisemitism. Why are Jewish sensitivities denied or diminished at almost every turn? Why does our trauma trigger applause?” he wrote.
During The Breakfast Club on Monday morning, Charlamagne expressed confusion about the controversy, citing how Chappelle had opened his monologue condemning anti-Semitism.
“I saw the ADL. The ADL is upset about Dave’s monologue. And you know, like you said, some folks are saying he’s normalizing antisemitism. I believe the ADL should use this opportunity to teach, because at this point, this isn’t getting us anywhere,” Charlamagne said.
“I’ve learned a lot about what is considered to be antisemitic over the last couple of years, but I personally didn’t hear anything that would be considered antisemitic and Dave’s monologue,” he added.
The radio host even called upon the ADL to provide more education about antisemitism since it has become a high profile issue lately.
“I think the ADL should teach folks what’s considered antisemitic instead of just coming out and labeling people antisemitic, because that is a very dangerous label,” he said.
“And I think anybody who says that, you know, Dave’s monologue is normalizing antisemitism — use these moments as opportunities to teach. Because clearly there’s a whole lot of people who don’t even know what being antisemitic is,” Charlamagne said.
“I know that wasn’t Dave’s intention — because Dave literally started the monologue off denouncing antisemitism. So if they’re telling me now that, you know, his monologue normalized antisemitism, I would like to be taught what exactly in that was antisemitic. So people don’t make that mistake, again. That’s what I think should happen,” he concluded.
Listen above via The Breakfast Club.
