Dave Chappelle recently revealed that his iconic Saturday Night Live monologue in January was subject to censorship during his latest stand-up performance. 

While performing in San Francisco on Thursday, the comedian—who has sparked controversy with his transphobic remarks—shared that the higher-ups at Studio 8-H had requested he steer clear of two specific topics for his latest SNL appearance.

‘SNL producers told him he couldn’t speak about two topics: transgender people and Gaza,’ reported SFGATE’s senior culture editor Dan Gentile.

Despite the restrictions, Chappelle still managed to slip in a note of sympathy for Palestinians during his monologue.

In his San Francisco set, Chappelle refrained from elaborating further on Gaza but ended his performance with a sharp, provocative remark: ‘Give the Jews a break, free Palestine’, per the outlet. 

This wasn’t the first time SNL had intervened in Chappelle’s material; back in 2022, Lorne Michaels nixed a joke from his set. 

Dave Chappelle recently revealed that his iconic Saturday Night Live monologue in January was subject to censorship during his latest stand-up performance; (pictured 2022)

While performing in San Francisco on Thursday, the comedian—who has sparked controversy with his transphobic remarks —shared that the higher-ups at Studio 8-H had requested he steer clear of two specific topics for his latest SNL appearance; (pictured SNL January)

At the time, the comedian was facing heavy backlash over his jokes about transgender people.

Michaels, eager to avoid further controversy, warned Chappelle against using the joke, a suggestion the comic apparently couldn’t turn down.

He ended up not airing it, after doing so during a dress rehearsal. 

The specifics and context of the joke were laid bare by Vulture. 

‘The papers got it wrong,’ Chappelle said after Page Six published a story incorrectly stating that multiple writers were boycotting Chappelle’s appearance because of the joke. 

In reality, a writer who was nonbinary privately told Michaels they preferred to sit the week out.

This paved the way for the unheard punchline. ‘Only one person has a problem, but the paper got confused because that person is a they.’

During his January monologue, Chappelle – at one point joking that he was ‘tired of being controversial’ and hoping to ‘turn over a new leaf’ – ended his set on the NBC show discussing Trump, saying: ‘He’ll be the 47th president, he’s done it again.’

‘SNL producers told him he couldn’t speak about two topics: transgender people and Gaza,’ reported SFGATE’s senior culture editor Dan Gentile; (SNL head Lorne Michaels in 2023)

This wasn’t the first time SNL had intervened in Chappelle’s material; back in 2022, Lorne Michaels nixed a joke from his set 

The comedian relayed an anecdote about the late President Jimmy Carter going to Palestine with minimal security while Chappelle was visiting the Middle East 20 years ago.

‘I will never forget the images of a former American president walking with no security with thousands of Palestinians cheering him on and when I saw that picture, it brought tears to my eyes. I said, ‘I don’t know if that’s a good president but that right there, I am sure, is a great man.’ It made me feel very proud,’ he claimed. 

He then said that ‘the presidency is no place for petty people,’ before addressing Trump and the rest of the nation, joking that ‘I know you watch the show.’ 

To Trump and America, Chappelle said: ‘Remember, whether people voted for you or not, they’re all counting on you. Whether they like you or not, they’re all counting on you. The whole world is counting on you. 

‘I mean this when I say this, good luck. Do better next time. Please, all of us, do better next time.’