Jon Stewart On Dave Chappelle: “I Don’t Believe Censorship And Penalties Are The Way To End Antisemitism”
16.11.2022 - 18:19
/ deadline.com
Jon Stewart appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Tuesday evening, and addressed recent controversies surrounding Kanye West, Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving and comedian Dave Chappelle. During the 12-minute segment, Stewart told his former Daily Show colleague, “I don’t believe censorship and penalties are the way to end antisemitism.”
West was in the headlines last month as companies cut ties with him over repeated antisemitic remarks. Irving posted a link to a movie that espouses disproven antisemitic tropes and was suspended from the Nets and dropped by Nike.
Stewart began his chat with Colbert on a lighter tone before turning quite serious.
“The Kanye thing… he can be erratic and that didn’t surprise me. The Kyrie thing surprised me a bit — you don’t expect to get it from someone named Irving,” quipped Stewart.
He added, “Now everybody calls me and says ‘Did you see Dave on SNL?’ and I’m like, ‘Yes, we’re very good friends. I always watch.’”
Chappelle drew fire from the Anti-Defamation League last weekend after he did a long take to open SNL regarding recent issues involving West and Irving.
Stewart said people have been telling him Chappelle, “normalized antisemitism.” To which Stewart says he’s responded, “I don’t know if you’ve been on comments sections on most news articles but it’s pretty f*cking normal… But the one thing I will say is, I don’t believe that censorship and penalties are the way to end antisemitism or to gain understanding. I think it’s the wrong way to approach it.”
Further, he added, “Dave said something in the SNL monologue that I thought was constructive as well which is ‘It shouldn’t be this hard to talk about things.’ And that is what we’re talking about.”
Stewart said,