Dave Chappelle says the devastation of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential win made it difficult to find the laughter behind the scenes at “Saturday Night Live.” The comedian hosted the show four days after the presidential race on Nov. 12.
In a new Variety “Actors on Actors” conversation with Mo Amer, Chappelle recalled the scene that unfolded as he and the crew prepared for the episode.
“Man, when they called Donald Trump the winner, that shut the writers room down,” he said.
“You should have seen them… Boy, they was crying like, like, Black people,” Chappelle noted, adding, “And I like Black people, but you know what I mean, they, they, they couldn’t believe that this was happening.”
During the live “SNL” show, the star of “Chappelle’s Show” launched his monologue by saying, “I didn’t know that Donald Trump was gonna win the election. I did suspect it. Seemed like Hillary [Clinton] was doing well in the polls, and yet, I know the whites. You guys aren’t as full of surprises as you used to be. … America’s done it. We’ve actually elected an internet troll as our president. The whites are furious.”
Chappelle and Amer’s look back at the comedic bit stirred a flood of reactions online. One read, “I remember that cringe opening, after that election where they had Kate playing the Piano very seriously as if there had been a death. For a Comedy show, them going serious to send a message they were not happy, especially when Kate at the end says Hills would have her victory eventually…They meant it too be very serious, but it was SOOO Cringy, it was actually very funny, which for that version of SNL, that was a rarity.”
Chappelle and Chris Rock did a skit about Trump during the show. A conservative commenter inferred that the comedian’s story said a lot more about the liberal-leaning themes at “SNL.”
That individual wrote, “Crying over politics. This is the state of SNL writing, and it explains a lot.” However, a third viewer noted that not much has changed from 2016 to the present day.
“Cried over his latest win too—–in fact still crying,” they said.
To date, Chappelle has hosted the long-running NBC program on Nov. 12, 2016, Nov. 7, 2020, Nov. 12, 2022, and Jan. 18, 2025. He was invited by “SNL” creator and producer Lorne Michaels to host the 2024 post-election show but turned down the offer that October.
His contemporary Bill Burr stepped in for the Nov. 9 taping. The “Half Baked” actor’s January return marked the “SNL” Season 50 opener, just two days before the Republican was sworn into office. His monologue was 17 minutes, the longest in the series’ history.
Chappelle told Trump to “remember whether people voted for you or not, they’re all counting on you. Whether they like you or not, they’re all counting on you. The whole world’s counting on you. … Good luck. Please, do better next time. … Do not forget your humanity.”
