>
Dave Chappelle has made light of the backlash against him for hosting Saturday Night Live as he appeared in an ad this weekend ahead of the show.
The comedian riffed with cast member Ego Nwodim, awkwardly saying “yep” when she asked if he’d appear “on this news cycle.”
The 49-year-old also joked that the episode – featuring singers Black Star – was so black it will be on BET.
It comes after Chappelle became enraged by some staff members who threatened to boycott the program if he hosted it.
One even took to Instagram to argue that “transphobia is murder and it must be condemned” after his lock was announced.
Dave Chappelle has shed light on the reaction to him hosting Saturday Night Live, as he appeared in an ad this weekend ahead of the show
The comedian riffed with cast member Ego Nwodim, awkwardly saying ‘yep’ when asked if he appeared on the show ‘on this news cycle’
SNL’s Twitter page shared the clip of the comedian smoking what appeared to be a cigarette as he prepared for the third time hosting the show.
Nwodim asks him, ‘Wait, we’re doing it live?’ Chappelle replies, “Of course.” She says, “With you?” He hits back: “Of course.” She asks, “In this news cycle?” He adds, “Yes.”
Earlier in the ad, Chappelle jokes that he will be presenting “in an episode so black, it’s on BET.”
It will be the funny man’s third time hosting the show, with the previous two airing less than a week after the national election.
But this most recent seems to be the most controversial, with staff writers threatening to boycott his performance.
They would be outraged that the showrunners chose the controversial comedian for his history of making trans and gay jokes.
The SNL writers are so angry they are boycotting the episode, an insider has told Page six. The show’s actors will not take a position, the insider noted.
“They’re not going to do the show,” the anonymous insider told the news site. “But none of the actors are boycotting.”
Following Saturday’s announcement that Chappelle would be hosting, non-binary SNL writer Celeste Yim posted this on their Instagram stories
A Chappelle representative said there had been no signs of a boycott as they attended weekday meetings with the writers.
Chapelle was at 30 Rock in New York City on Tuesday, meeting both writers and producers to hear ideas.
The comedian’s representative said, “The room was full of writers. They were all throwing ideas and they seemed very excited about it…. Dave wants to have some fun.’
But non-binary SNL writer Celeste Yim posted a photo of herself in what appeared to be the writer’s office on their Instagram Stories.
They wrote: ‘I am trans and non-binary. I use she/she pronouns. Transphobia is murder and must be condemned.’
While Yim didn’t refer directly to Chappelle, the timing suggested their message was critical of Chappelle being chosen as host.
It’s unclear if Yim is one of the writers boycotting this weekend’s show. DailyMail.com has reached out to NBC about the boycott reports for comment.
Chappelle will be joined by rap duo Black Star, who will be the musical guests of the evening.
He last hosted the show well before its release on Chappelle’s Netflix special “The Close,” which angered some because some of the jokes were about transgender people.
In The Closer, Chappelle goes to great lengths to emphasize that he doesn’t hate transgender people, and tells a lengthy anecdote about a transwoman comic, which he describes as a friend who came to his rescue in previous community entanglements.
He was criticized for deliberately mistreating the trans boyfriend.
Not his first rodeo: Variety reported the comedian’s appearance on the show would be the third time he’d host the program after an election
Chappelle says, “Every human in this room, every human on Earth, had to go through a woman’s legs to be on Earth. That’s a fact.’
In the special, Chappelle also jokes that women see trans women the same way black people see white women wearing blackface.
He noted that women have a right to feel anger towards trans women as Caitlyn Jenner won Glamor magazine’s 2015 Woman of the Year award.
“I’d be crazy if I were a woman,” Chappelle says during a problematic piece.
The star also joked about the anatomy of trans women, joking that they didn’t have real female reproductive organs and that they didn’t have blood but “beet juice.”
The artist’s debut as a host of the series took place in November 2016, just after former President Donald Trump was elected to office.
During his performance, the actor spoke via USA today about the implications of the former TV personality’s then-new position as head of the country.
“America did it – we actually elected an internet troll as our president,” he declared.
However, Chappelle unexpectedly ended his opening monologue on a positive note.
He stated: “I wish Donald Trump good luck and I’m going to give him a chance, and we, the historically disenfranchised, demand that he give us one too.”
The artist went on to receive the Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his work on the program.
The comedian then returned to the show in 2020, on an episode that also followed that year’s presidential election.
At the time, the vote counts had been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and were not confirmed until the day the show was filmed.
During the episode, Chappelle expressed via Vox the US had become deeply divided and the value of reconciliation was more important than many would have expected.