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Dave Chappelle is not censoring his political commentary for comedy’s sake. Jokes aside, the “Contrarian” has used the stage to narrate his viewpoints on society, including the “genocide” of Palestinians amid the ongoing Hamas-Israel war.
The comic is among the entertainers who performed for Abu Dhabi Comedy Week at Etihad Arena on May 23.
During his set, he addressed the Middle East conflict as “a direct result of anti-Semitism in the West. If you are in America, the best thing you can do is to make American Jews feel safe, feel loved, and supported so they can know they don’t have to support a country that is committing genocide just to feel safe,” according to The Daily Mail UK.
Chappelle is Muslim and has been vocal about his support of Palestinians since longstanding tensions between the peoples of the occupied territories of Gaza and the West Bank and Israel exploded with Hamas militants swarming across the border of Gaza into Israel on Oct. 7 and killing more than 1,200 Israelis and taking more than 250 hostages. The Israeli military’s ongoing response in Gaza has resulted in more than 36,600 Palestinian deaths, with thousands more injured and displaced amid the bombings.
A recently resurfaced tweet rehashing his perspective on the Hamas-Israel war has renewed discussions about the comedian’s candor while dealing with a heckler who opposed his pro-Palestine stance.
The decimation of the region has left Palestinians with little refuge and limited supplies for their basic needs, including access to medical services and other essentials. Last October, Chappelle had a sold-out show at Boston’s TD Garden, an indoor arena that seats a little less than 20,000 people, where he spoke about the events unfolding abroad.
.@DaveChappelle at a recent show in #Boston shared by a friend:
I saw Dave Chappell last night at Boston TD Garden. It was sold out so I would say 22,000 people there. 3/4 into the show he said I want to address what’s going on in Palestine and Israel. He specifically said… pic.twitter.com/OwagKPoVnJ
— Yousef Ibrahim يوسف إبراهيم (@yousefiaa) October 22, 2023
According to an Oct. 21 tweet, Chappelle said that what was taking place “wasn’t right” and “not just. You can’t kill innocent civilians like that, and the whole world sits silently and watches.” A heckler is said to have yelled for the “Half Baked” actor to “shut the F up.”
The X user, who was rehashing the exchange on a friend’s behalf, wrote, “He then went nuts and yelled back ‘no you shut the F up. You don’t take tens of billions from my country to go kill innocent women and children and come and tell me to shut the F up.’ He said, ‘don’t come begging for money from my country and then go drop bombs on children and cut off innocent people water and electricity. You have the audacity to pay to come see me and then tell me shut the F up no you shut the F up.’”
As reported by the U.S. Department of Defense, in April President Joe Biden signed a supplemental bill promising $95 billon to America’s partners, Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, as well as supplying military artillery.
Biden said, “This is directly in the United States’ national security interests.” Israel is promised $14.1 billion, with the bill allocating $9.5 billion to assist humanitarian efforts to help civilians in Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine, and other conflict zones.
When TD Garden’s audience chanted “Free Palestine,” the stand-up legend said, “You’re d—n right free Palestine” and unleashed a 15-minute rant “about being a Muslim and that the Israelis are projecting what’s wrong with them on Muslims and the crowd kept on cheering. It was surreal.”
His disapproving audience members walked out. Chappelle is no stranger to controversy. His recent specials like “The Closer” and “Sticks and Stones” have made him a divisive figure in comedy.
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