Dave Chappelle returned to host Saturday Night Live last night for the first time since his post-election gig in 2016, and though this time around the mood was decidedly happier, Chappelle did not come to play. He started the monologue with an anecdote about his great-grandfather, who was a slave for ten years and devoted his life to “education, the freedom of Black people, and Jesus Christ.†Though he wishes he could see his great-grandfather now, Chappelle wondered how he would feel about Chappelle’s Show streaming on Netflix and HBO Max without any royalties being paid to Chappelle. Chappelle also explained his gratitude for the COVID-19 pandemic, noting, “Do you guys remember what life was like before COVID? It was a mass shooting every week, thank god for COVID. Something had to lock these murderous whites up, keep them in the house.â€
In addition to addressing Trump (“You racist, hilarious son of a bitchâ€) Chappelle devoted a considerable chunk of the monologue to addressing Trump voters and anti-maskers. “Don’t want to wear your mask? Try wearing the mask I’ve been wearing all these years,†he said. “I can’t even tell something true unless it has a punchline behind it. You guys aren’t ready. You don’t know how to survive yourselves. Black people, we’re the only ones who know how to survive this.†Chappelle has a potential solution, however, for white people who “want to help.†“My plan is called the kindness conspiracy,†Chappelle revealed. “Random acts of kindness for Black people. Do something nice for a Black person just because they’re Black, and you’ve got to make sure they don’t deserve it. The same way all them years they did terrible things to Black people just because they’re Black and they didn’t deserve it.â€