Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Dave Chappelle jokes about world-conquering ‘Space Jews’ in new Netflix special

(JTA) — Dave Chappelle was well aware that his latest Netflix standup comedy special was going to bring him a storm of criticism online. That’s likely why he starts it by saying that it will be his last standup special for a while.

In “The Closer,” released Tuesday, the longtime provocateur crosses lines that for most celebrities lead to pop culture suicide in 2021.

He starts by joking about how good he felt while being molested by a preacher as a child. Then he talks about watching videos of Black people beating up Asian people during the COVID-19 pandemic, while he was quarantining with an asymptomatic case of the virus. Chappelle, who is Black, likens the beatings to his body’s efforts to beat the virus — effectively comparing Asian people to the coronavirus.

Then he turns to Jews, saying UFO videos gave him an idea for a movie.

In my movie idea, we find out that these aliens are originally from earth — that they’re from an ancient civilization that achieved interstellar travel and left the earth thousands of years ago. Some other planet they go to, and things go terrible for them on the other planet, so they come back to earth, [and] decide that they want to claim the earth for their very own. It’s a pretty good plotline, huh? I call it “Space Jews.”

After the joke gets only a little applause, Chapelle says, “All right, it’s gonna get worse than that, hang in there.”

Whether the joke is a Zionist allegory or a bit about world domination, NPR critic Eric Deggans called it antisemitic.

“[Chappelle] knows reviewers like me will quote the joke and criticize him for it, which I am. I don’t really care what point he’s trying to make; a joke which sounds like anti-Semitism gets a hard pass from me,” Deggans wrote.

Others on Twitter agreed.

But Jewish screenwriter Brian Koppelman, creator of the show “Billions,” reacted in a more positive way.

Chappelle also waded into the debate over transgender rights, defending J.K. Rowling, the Harry Potter creator, whose reputation took a hit after she challenged widely accepted views about sex, gender and trans activism last year.

— The post Dave Chappelle’s jokes about world-conquering ‘Space Jews’ in new Netflix special appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at editorial@forward.com, subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.

Exit mobile version