Dave Chappelle, for the sake of riling people up — and, some maintain, for the sake of comedy — has made a number of questionable and offensive jokes in recent years. Case in point: his divisive transgender material.
But he wasn’t kidding around Thursday when, having taken the stage in Boston to entertain, he tackled the Israel-Hamas war. The controversial comedian’s comments reportedly spurred some audience members to get up and leave.
“As a comedian and satirist, he has to navigate the complexities of competing truths, presenting perspectives that can be both thought-provoking and challenging,” a Chappelle spokeswoman told The Times on Monday afternoon.
In his set, Chappelle both condemned Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, according to the Wall Street Journal, and decried some of Israel’s subsequent actions against Palestinians.
His comments on the violence began with him defending Harvard Law students who lost job offers for supporting Palestinians, according to the Wall Street Journal. One audience member then yelled “Shut up.” The comedian responded by taking issue with the Israeli government for cutting off water, electricity and other essential resources to the Gaza Strip, as well as the displacement of 1.1 million Palestinians from northern Gaza. He also mentioned the role U.S. funding for Israel may have played in the conflict.
Chappelle, who assumed the audience member was Jewish, said that person had the right to speak up.
The horrific violence in the Mideast has, of course, spurred responses from those in the public eye, including those in the world of entertainment.
Over the weekend, Maha Dakhil, one of the top agents in Hollywood, left her leadership roles at Creative Artists Agency after posting a controversial post on the Israel-Hamas war. Her client list includes big-name talents such as Tom Cruise, Reese Witherspoon, Natalie Portman, Ava DuVernay and Anne Hathaway, among others.
This decision was made after Dakhil reposted an Instagram Story on Wednesday that read, in part, “You’re currently learning who supports genocide.” She added her own message over the repost, stating, “That’s the line for me.” Dakhil subsequently posted a second photo that was captioned, “What’s more heartbreaking than witnessing genocide? Witnessing the denial that genocide is happening.”
And some of those who make a living in comedy are not holding back on their opinions. Sarah Silverman and Amy Schumer have been vocal supporters of Israel and have accused pro-Palestinian advocates of antisemitism.
Others, such as Palestinian American model Gigi Hadid and musical artists Kehlani, Noname and Lil Yachty have signaled their support for the Palestinians. A group of A-listers signed a joint letter calling on President Biden to push for an Israel-Hamas ceasefire, including Jessica Chastain, Kristen Stewart, Jeremy Strong, Mark Ruffalo, Quinta Brunson, Cate Blanchett and America Ferrera. All that came after more than 700 “entertainment industry leaders,” including Gal Gadot, Jerry Seinfeld, Jamie Lee Curtis, Chris Pine, Mayim Bialik, Liev Schreiber, Michael Douglas and Debra Messing, signed an open letter condemning Hamas and expressing support for Israel.
But Chappelle wasn’t just making comments on social media. In Boston, he brought the conflict center stage, sparking some to cheer and others to call out — or walk out — possibly in disagreement.
In the arena with about 17,000 attendees, about 200 people left the venue intermittently in the last 20 minutes of the show, according to Chappelle spokeswoman Carla Sims, who talked with members of his security detail. She said Chappelle was attempting to express and uphold the humanity that exists on both sides and encouraged people to speak more freely and have honest conversations with each other about the conflict.
“He suggested both sides of the conflict may project negative qualities about each other and in doing so may reveal something about themselves,” she continued Monday afternoon, referring to Chappelle’s comments on the conflict and adding that he used the late Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror” analogy.
Another comedian recently earned plaudits for his evenhanded, personal take. In the recent cold open of Season 49 of “Saturday Night Live,” Pete Davidson dropped the jokes and spoke in earnest. He recalled his father dying in the World Trade Center terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
“I saw so many terrible pictures this week. Children suffering, Israeli children and Palestinian children. And it took me back to a really horrible, horrible place. No one in this world deserves to suffer like that, especially not kids.”
Meanwhile, Chappelle made an apparent joke, although not while on stage. Through a spokesperson, Chappelle denied that he was in Boston on the night of his show.
Times staff writer Carlos De Loera and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
