Dave Chappelle took some time out of his recent show to shut down the “hearsay” over his alleged Israel-Hamas comments.
According to previous reports from his Boston show, the comedian condemned both sides of the conflict before making accusations of war crimes in Gaza and criticizing Israel for cutting off supplies and humanitarian aid. While some audience members cheered him on and shouted, “Free Palestine,” others allegedly walked out of the show.
During his North Carolina stop on Wednesday (Oct. 25), Chappelle attempted to clear the air over his reported remarks about the ongoing war.
“Right now, I’m in trouble because the Jewish community is upset,” he said, per The New York Times. “But I cannot express this enough: No matter what you read about that show in Boston, you will never see quotation marks around anything I said. They don’t know what I said. It’s all hearsay.”
Chappelle does not allow phones at his shows, so there have been no video or audio recordings of what he said in Boston.
“The other night, I said something about Palestine in Boston and got misquoted all over the world,” he said. “And I will not repeat what I said.”
After an audience member at his North Carolina gig called out, “Free Palestine,” Chappelle asked her not to “start it up” or he’ll be “in the news cycle for another week.” He added that the war in “the Middle East is bigger than everybody,” before calling the “tragedy” in both Israel and Palestine a “nightmare.”
“There’s only two kinds of people in the world: people who love other people and the people that have things to make them afraid to love other people. Pray for everyone in Israel. Pray for everyone in Palestine,” he said. “And remember that every dead person is a dead person.”
Chappelle is no stranger to controversy. In 2021, he faced backlash for his comments about the trans community in his Netflix stand-up special, The Closer. Following its release, GLAAD called the comedian out for his offensive bit.
“Dave Chappelle’s brand has become synonymous with ridiculing trans people and other marginalized communities,” GLAAD’s statement at the time read. “Negative reviews and viewers loudly condemning his latest special is a message to the industry that audiences don’t support platforming anti-LGBTQ diatribes. We agree.”