Eagle-eyed viewers noticed Saturday Night Live star Bowen Yang standing as far away as possible as comedian Dave Chappelle made a surprise appearance at last week’s episode end credits.
Chappelle, 50, who has hosted the show multiple times in the past and even saw rumors of writers boycotting when he did so in 2022, did not appear in the most recent episode proper but arrived to wave goodnight to the audience.
The comic has often pushed boundaries and caused outrage with what many see as jokes at the expense of the transgender community which he argues has caused people to protest his shows and even throw eggs at him.
He never spoke but stood next to a star-studded lineup as host Dakota Johnson thanked musical guest Justin Timberlake and guest stars like Jimmy Fallon, Mark Cuban and Barbara Corcoran.
Yang, who is gay and vocally supportive of LGBT causes, was seen standing as far away as possible from Chappelle and appeared perturbed.
At one point, the 33 year-old and fellow cast member Sarah Sherman appear to be discussing Chappelle turning up as the end credits roll.
Yang appears to say ‘Oh’ at one point as Sherman clearly tries to get a view of the legendary comic.
Neither of them appear to greet Chappelle at any point during the goodnights, with Yang remaining in the corner.
The show and Yang have yet to publicly comment on the episode.
Also not appearing to address Chappelle was Molly Kearney, the only non-binary cast member in the show’s history. Kearney uses they/them pronouns.
Kearney, Sherman and Yang all appeared sparingly in that episode and Kearney only appeared in a pre-recorded sketch and did not appear in the end credits the last time Chappelle hosted in 2022, according to Paste Magazine.
Saturday Night Live staff writers were rumored to be boycotting that weekend’s show over the decision to have Chappelle host it, according to reports.
However, a representative for Chappelle said there had been no signs of a boycott when they had attended meetings with the writers during the week.
After the announcement that Chappelle would be hosting, non-binary SNL writer Celeste Yim posted a picture of themselves in what appeared to be the writer’s offices to their Instagram Stories.
Over the picture, they wrote: ‘I’m trans and non-binary. I use they/them pronouns. Transphobia is murder and it should be condemned.’
While Yim did not directly reference Chappelle, the timing suggested their post was criticism of Chappelle being chose as host. Yim is still a writing supervisor on the series.
Chappelle has been widely criticized in recent years for a steady stream of jokes involving transgender people.
Critics have labeled them transphobic – but fans say Chappelle is just exercising his right to free speech.
In his 2017 Netflix special, he spoke about pitching a movie idea to a Hollywood producer about a superhero who gets his power via raping women.
Other critics have complained that some of his recent stand-up specials have featured long digressions that played more like airing of grievances than comedic routines.
Chappelle’s new Netflix special The Dreamer, debuted December 31.
During the show, which was shot the Lincoln Theater in Washington, DC, he makes jokes not only about the trans community, but the disabled as well saying, ‘they’re not as organized as the gays. And I love punching down.’
