WASHINGTON: American stand-up comedian Dave Chappelle is set to make a return visit as host of ‘Saturday Night Live’, taking the helm for the episode that will air next week.
According to Deadline, the iconic comedian will return to 30 Rock next Saturday, being joined in his third go-round by musical guest Black Star.
Chappelle’s show will be the first hosted in the wake of the 2022 midterm elections in the USA, and it certainly won’t be the first show of the sort the comic has hosted.
He last took upon the hosting duty on ‘SNL’ in November 2020, just a matter of days following Joe Biden’s victory in the Presidential election over Donald Trump.
For that show, the comic was joined by musical guest Foo Fighters, having also hosted back on November 12, 2016 — which marked the first show since Trump’s election triumph.
Chappelle’s ‘SNL’ return is sure to be watched closely given the controversy he’s courted in recent years, particularly with jokes aimed at the trans community.
He stirred massive controversy in 2021 with his Netflix special ‘The Closer’, which included homophobic and transphobic comments that stirred anger within Netflix.
At the time, Netflix’s co-CEO and chief content officer, Ted Sarandos defended Chappelle’s right to wade into the incendiary territory but he wound up apologizing to Netflix employees for the tenor of his initial comments after employees expressed outrage.
As per Deadline, Chappelle’s upcoming return to ‘SNL’ was announced on the last episode hosted by comedian Amy Schumer, who is likewise on her third outing as host. (ANI)