Comedian Dave Chappelle has come under fire for questionable comments he made during a recent comedy sketch in reference to Donald Trump bragging about sexually assaulting women.
Chappelle, who is gearing up for his highly anticipated Saturday Night Live debut this weekend, made the comments during a surprise performance in NYC on Friday. According to a report by The Observer, much of Chappelle’s routine was dedicated to blasting the media over their coverage of the release of a 2005 video clip, in which Trump is heard bragging about grabbing women by the genitals.
“Sexual assault? It wasn’t,” he told the crowd. ‘And when you’re a star, they let you do it.’ That phrase implies consent. I just don’t like the way the media twisted that whole thing. Nobody questioned it.”
During a separate segment of his routine, the comedian also took aim at women’s rights and LGBT rights, questioning why they are regarded as equally important as the issue of racism.
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“They should not be having that conversation in front of black people,” he continued. “You go ahead and feel something about your rights. But if you’re putting sexism and homophobia and transphobia in front of racism, you should be ashamed of yourself.”
Chappelle also expressed displeasure with Hillary Clinton, noting that he doesn’t think she’s a “coin-worthy” presidential candidate and insinuating that her camp was to blame for the leak of the 2005 video tape of Trump. Naturally, Chappelle’s comments drew much backlash from fans and critics. His team issued a brief statement to Variety in response to various media reports suggesting that he defended Trump, in which it was also revealed that he did indeed vote for Clinton.
“Dave is disgusted by the tone of the election and especially by the idea that his comedy would be misconstrued to defend Trump,” Chappelle’s rep said. “His comedy show blasted both candidates. By the way, he voted for Hillary.”
