Comedian Dave Chappelle appeared to defend Kanye West, legally known as Ye, during his opening monologue on “Saturday Night Live.”
Chappelle opened his set by discussing Ye’s recent anti-semitic statements, in which he has alleged that Jews control Hollywood and stifle his creativity.
“I don’t think Kanye is crazy at all. I think he’s possibly not well. I’ve been to Hollywood,” Chappelle said. “I don’t want y’all to get mad at me. I’m just telling you, I have been to Hollywood. This is just what I saw: it’s a lot of Jews. Like a lot. But that doesn’t mean anything. You know what I mean? There’s a lot of black people in Ferguson, Missouri, doesn’t mean they run the place. That doesn’t mean anything.” (RELATED: ‘A Figment Of Your Imagination’: Chris Cuomo Pushes Back On Kanye’s Latest Rant About Jewish People)
“I can see if you had some kind of issue, you know what I mean? Might go out to Hollywood and you might start connecting some kind of lines, and you can maybe adopt the illusion that the Jews run show business,” Chappelle continued. “It’s not a crazy thing to think, but it’s a crazy thing to say out loud in a time like this.”
Ye’s rants have cost him several of his business ventures, with Balenciaga, GAP, JP Morgan Chase and Adidas cutting ties with the superstar.
Chappelle also discussed Kyrie Irving’s recent suspension by the Brooklyn Nets, which happened after the basketball star refused to “unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs,” according to the Nets. Chappelle said that while the Jewish people have experienced suffering, “you can’t blame that on black Americans.”
