Dave Chappelle Jokes About Los Angeles Fires & More During 'SNL' Opening Monologue
Dave Chappelle opened the January 18 episode of Saturday Night Live by joking about the Los Angeles fires, the election and more.
The 51-year-old comedian said that he reluctantly returned to the popular late-night show, noting that Lorne Michaels originally offered him the first episode after the election.
During the monologue, Dave revealed that he wasn’t interested at the time, joking that he should “save the date closest to January 6.” When the offer came again in December, Dave decided to accept.
“The moment I said yes, L.A. burst into flames. And it’s a tough one, because I’m tired of being controversial,” he said. “I’m trying to turn over a new leaf. And it is way too soon to do jokes about a catastrophe like that.”
He then proceeded to joke about the fires.
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Dave said that the fires enforced that he “hate[d] poor people,” saying that they weren’t upset about the losses that celebrities are suffering because “they can’t see past their own pain.”
He also addressed the conspiracy theories about how the fires started, saying that arson was likely responsible to a degree. However, Dave pointed out that there were so many other issues at the time.
“If you were a rational-thinking person, you’d have to at least consider the possibility that God hates these people,” he said. “Sodomites. But that’s not true because West Hollywood was unscathed. Because how can you burn what is already flaming?
The comedian also joked about the perils of being famous, Donald Trump, Luigi Mangione, Diddy and more.
Dave will be joined tonight by musical guest GloRilla. We’ll update this post as soon as his monologue is available online and will let you know if anything else big goes on during the show.
Did you know that next week, the show’s host is a popular actor who will also be the musical guest?
A SNL alum recently revealed that they asked to be fired from the showt.