Dave Chappelle turned in another edgy monologue on Saturday Night Live – four years on from his first hosting appearance days after Donald Trump became President.
The former Celebrity Apprentice host, who lost the Presidency to Joe Biden earlier today, COVID-19, masks and slavery were all touched up in the NBC variety show opening.
Chappelle, with his trademark cigarette in hand, joked that he’s not as optimistic as Trump, “I would say there’s bad people on both sides”. On Trump calling the Coronavirus the “Kung Flu”, he added, “You racist, hilarious son of a b*tch. I’m supposed to say that, not you.” He highlighted how “wild” it was that Trump tried to guess a cure for COVID-19 during a live press conference, one where Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Birx was nodding along.
“That’s why women make half. Did I trigger you? Half? Maybe 70%. That’s too much,” joked Chappelle. He added that it was “hilarious” that Trump himself then ended up getting COVID-19 after he was “running around like the outbreak monkey”.
He opened his monologue saying it had been a “pretty incredible” day and after admitting he was nervous to host the show, he had spent most of the day thinking about his great grandfather, a former slave in North Carolina. He also touched on his live COVID-friendly comedy gigs over the summer, saying that local farmers had complained that the shows, held in a cornfield, were too noisy.
Masks, and particularly the people that refused to wear them, was also a topic. “I don’t know why poor white people don’t like wearing masks. What is the problem? You wear masks to the Klan rally, wear them to WalMart too,” he said. “Try wearing the mask I’ve been wearing all these years. I can’t say something true unless it’s got a punchline.”
He referenced his appearance four years ago, one that scored him an Emmy. “Remember how bad that felt?,” he said. But he ended on a slightly positive note saying that “you have to find a way to find joy”.