Dave Chappelle jokes about LA wildfires, Trump’s return and more

On January 19, 2025By Littum

Donald Trump returns to the White House, so you know what that means: Dave Chappelle is the host Saturday Night Live. Chappelle made his famous SNL debuted on the 42nd season episode, which aired on November 12, 2016, four days after Trump won the presidency for the first time. While the performance that won Chappelle the first of five Emmys (he also won for hosting the series in 2021) took place immediately after the election, this one aired right before the inauguration, making this a once-in-a-lifetime -4- year tradition. Here are the best moments from Chappelle’s third hosting gig, from his opening monologue to the funniest sketches.

COLD OPEN

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There are three certainties in life: death, taxes and SNL opening with a skit commenting on the week in politics (see above). This week started with a spoof of MSNBC’s famous roundtables with hosts Rachel Maddow (Sarah Sherman), Joy Reid (Ego Nwodo), Ari Melber (Marcello Hernandez), Stephanie Ruhle (Chloe Fineman), and Chris Hayes (Andrew Dismukes) discusses Trump’s upcoming inauguration. While the moderators promise not to obsess over all the crazy things Trump says this time, they are besieged by news that he will trade Connecticut for Italy, declare war on sharks and send Don Jr. to investigate the possibility of buying Emerald City, as a commentator Claire McCaskill (Heidi Gardner) believes that he is wrong about Greenland.

They then go to a live press conference with the incoming president (James Austin Johnson) as he comments on the TikTok ban: “We used to hate TikTok, but then it helped me get elected, so now we love it.” Trump then introduces former congressman George Santos (Bowen Yang), who has been appointed secretary of fact-checking and ambassador of Sephora. However, Santos has no time to speak because his father, Jimmy Carterjust died, and his girlfriend, Luigi Mangionewaiting for him.

CHAPPELLE’S MONOLOGUE

When Chapelle came on stage and smoked a cigarette, ears perked up to see if the controversial comedian would ruffle feathers again. “I’m trying to turn over a new leaf,” Chappelle said, hoping not to be too sassy. But it wasn’t long before he was making jokes about the Los Angeles fires (“West Hollywood was left standing, because how can you burn what’s already on fire?”), lies about Haitian migrants eating pets in Springfield, Ohio (Ohio resident said he ate at Haitian restaurants to reassure everyone it would be safe, even though he wasn’t sure what he was eating), and P. Diddy‘s arrest (“If you’re 55 and you’ve got a thousand bottles of baby oil in the cupboard, you can’t stop, won’t stop”).

But perhaps the most newsworthy thing he said was the most humane. Chappelle recalled a time when he was in the Middle East at the same time as former President Carter was in Israel to promote his new book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. Carter went with Palestinians even when the Israeli government could not guarantee his safety, and Chappelle recalled watching that moment and saying, “I don’t know if that’s a good president, but there’s a good man.” He then addressed Trump directly (who he knew was watching), saying, “The presidency is not a place for petty people … so remember, whether people voted for you or not, they’re counting on you. Good luck good luck. Please do better next time.” He then asked the audience to “have compassion for displaced people, whether they are in the Palisades or Palestine.”

LOS ANGELES FIRE’S SKETCH

The best of Chappelle’s sketches commented on the wildfires in Los Angeles, where the comedian plays a seemingly ordinary father whose secret double life comes to light during an evacuation notice. While his wife (Ego Nwodo) and son (Devon Walker) has collected the essentials, Chappelle races around the house collecting things he’s previously kept hidden: thousands of dollars in cash behind the wall, guns in a safe, a thumb drive with sensitive information, and a card he’s hidden in the stinkiest hiding place . places. He also has to fight a Bosnian gangster who is out to kill him, and even has to kill the family dog because there is something valuable in his stomach. A blood-soaked Chappelle has a lot of explaining to do when the evacuation notice turns out to be a mistake.

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WEEKEND UPDATE

In between breaking down the week’s headlines, Weekend update host Michael Che spoke with Michael Longfellow about the recent TikTok ban. Longfellow, one of SNL’s Gen Z crew members, defended the now-defunct app’s right to exist, saying lots of great things come out of China, including Jesus. “I thought he was Middle Eastern,” he said, “but I saw it on TikTok,” so who knows? He also brushed off concerns about TikTok data collection (“Oh no, China knows I like fat Latinos. Who doesn’t?”) and thanked the app for diagnosing him with ADHD after taking a TikTok quiz three times . Colin Jost also commented on the box office success of A24’s gothic horror film Nosferatu with none other than the original Nosferatu (Sarah Sherman), who told Jost that if he ever got a nosebleed, she wouldn’t go because she’d be up all night from all the cocaine (can’t blame a vamp for being picky).

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