Dave Chappelle's Upcoming SNL Hosting Gig Is Reportedly Causing A Stir Behind The Scenes
In October 2021, comedian Dave Chappelle came under fire for a series of jokes from his Netflix comedy special, "The Closer," where he made what many considered to be anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ+ punch-downs. Calling himself "Team TERF" (Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist) in reference to J.K. Rowling's own brush with anti-trans rhetoric and subsequent backlash, he also had scathing critiques for arguably the most famous transgender person, Caitlyn Jenner, per Us Weekly. Comedy fans flooded social media with their displeasure, calling him queer- and transphobic. One fan said he was trying to pit Black people against the queer community, and another said it was "disgusting" Netflix would give this special a platform. It resulted in many Netflix workers staging a walk-out in protest of his show remaining on the streaming platform, per the New York Post.
Then in May, Chappelle was attacked onstage at the Hollywood Bowl comedy show in Los Angeles. He was performing during the "Netflix is a Joke" festival, when a man jumped onstage and bowled him over. Police say the assailant was holding a fake gun with a real blade concealed inside the toy, per Page Six. The assailant was reportedly motivated to attack due to Chappelle's transphobic jokes, per CBS News.
Now, it seems the comedian is facing further consequences in connection with his upcoming "Saturday Night Live" hosting stint.
SNL staff writers are reportedly boycotting Dave Chappelle's episode
On November 12, Dave Chappelle is set to host "Saturday Night Live" for the third time, but not without some pushback. Page Six spoke to a source close to the situation who reports some staff writers are boycotting the episode. "They're not going to do the show," the source told the outlet. "But none of the actors are boycotting." However, the outlet also spoke to Chapelle's public representative, who told them "there was no evidence of a boycott" this week during rehearsals. "The room was full of writers. They all pitched ideas and they seemed very excited about it." The outlet also reported on the timely Instagram Story of trans staff writer Celeste Yim, who uses they/them pronouns, where they wrote about how transphobia deserves condemnation without mentioning Chappelle by name.
Many on social media are echoing those sentiments, especially considering that "SNL" castmate Molly Kearney is the show's first non-binary cast member in the show's history, per The Washington Post. "You have your first non-binary cast member ever and then you book an proud and open transphobe. What a disappointment," one user tweeted. Another agreed, writing, "Disappointing but not surprising. Feeling for Molly Kearney right now." Another Kearney fan called it "a slap in the face to trans people."