During his set at the Masonic in San Francisco, comedian Dave Chappelle told the crowd that the team at “Saturday Night Live” forbid him from speaking about two topics when he hosted the show on January 18: Gaza and transgender people.
The revelation was shared by SFGate culture editor Dan Gentile, who reviewed Chappelle’s show for the outlet.
Chapelle more or less stuck to those same guidelines during his San Francisco set, Gentile added, though this time it appeared of his own volition. The comedian spoke briefly about politics, told the audience he voted for Biden in 2020 and Harris in 2024, and made jokes about both Trump and Biden that Gentile described as “tired.”
In January Chapelle told the studio audience at ‘SNL’ that he had initially declined to have him host the first show after the presidential election. After he eventually said yes, he continued, “LA burst into flames.”
After the LA wildfires, Chapelle targeted Diddy. “My friends asked, they said, ‘Dave, did you know anything about those freak off parties?’ I was like nah man. I didn’t know anything about them,” he said. “They go, ‘Well how are all these people that you know at the freak off and you’re not at the freak off?’ and I thought about it for a second and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh. I’m ugly.’”
Chapelle also took the opportunity to memorialize President Jimmy Carter, who traveled to Palestine while on an official trip to Israel. “I will never forget the images of a former American president walking with little to no security, while thousands of Palestinians would cheer. When I saw that picture, it brought tears to my eyes,” he said.
The comedian closed out his monologue with a direct message for Trump. “Presidency is no place for petty people,” he said. “So Donald Trump, 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.”
You can read the review of Chappelle’s San Francisco set at SFGATE.
