Source: Kevin Mazur / Getty
Dave Chappelle’s Saturday Night Live hosting isn’t going off without a hitch.
Staffers at 30 Rockefeller were reportedly upset about Chappelle getting to host SNL, says PageSix, and may retaliate by boycotting the show. However, according to TMZ, Chappelle’s camp says the news is entirely false. TMZ says there’s been no talk of a boycott, and Chappelle’s met with the SNL cast and writer several times over the past few days to prepare for this week’s show.
Chappelle was announced as host of this week’s episode a week ago, and the news didn’t come without critics because of his supposed transphobic comments made during his 2021 Netflix special The Closer.
The idea of a boycott isn’t too far-fetched because at least one cast member, Celest Yim, uses they/them pronouns. Molly Kearney made history as the first out non-binary cast member of Saturday Night Live at the beginning of the latest season.
“I’m trans and non-binary. I use they/them pronouns. Transphobia is murder and it should be condemned,” they reportedly wrote in an Instagram story.
This marks Chappelle’s third time hosting the SNL, previously hosting within days of Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election and in 2016, right after Donald Trump became president.
Chappelle poked fun at the mild uproar in the latest promo for the episode where he appears alongside the week’s musical guest Black Star –the iconic rap group consisting of Yasiin Bey and Talib Kweli– and castmember Ego Nwodim.
Chappelle confirms he’s the host, with Nwodim responding, “Wait, we’re doing it live? With you?”
Then after reassuring that he actually is the host, Nwodim says, “In this news cycle? Interesting.”
See how Twitter reacted to the news of Chappelle hosting the show in light of his trans jokes below:
