Admitting that he's in 'trouble' after making the Jewish community 'upset' with his comments on the Israel-Hamas war at his Boston show, the comedian claims that people will never get what he actually said.
- Oct 27, 2023
AceShowbiz - Dave Chappelle has addressed his recent controversial remarks about the Israel-Hamas war that landed him in hot water. During his show at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C. on Wednesday night, October 25, he downplayed his alleged criticism of Israel as "hearsay," insisting that people would never get what he actually said at the time.
At the Wednesday show, the comedian admitted that he's in "trouble" after making the Jewish community "upset" with his comments on the Middle East conflict. "Right now, I'm in trouble because the Jewish community is upset," he said as quoted by the New York Times.
"But I cannot express this enough: No matter what you read about that show in Boston, you will never see quotation marks around anything I said. They don't know what I said," so he claimed. "It's all hearsay. "
Near the end of the night, Dave once again touched on the conflict in the Middle East. "The other night, I said something about Palestine in Boston and got misquoted all over the world," he said. "And I will not repeat what I said."
A woman in the crowd responded by shouting, "Free Palestine." Trying to mind his words this time, the 50-year-old responded, "Please, please, miss. Listen. Don't start it up or I'm going to be in the news cycle for another week. This thing that's happening in the Middle East is bigger than everybody."
"This is what's happening and, believe me, I understand what's happening in Israel is a nightmare," he continued. "What's happening in Palestine is a nightmare." Taking a neutral stance, the "A Star Is Born" actor added, "There's only two kinds of people in the world: people who love other people and the people that have things to make them afraid to love other people. Pray for everyone in Israel. Pray for everyone in Palestine."
"And remember that every dead person is a dead person," he went on stressing, before calling the situation a "tragedy."
Dave came under fire following his live performance at TD Garden on Thursday, October 29, during which he criticized what he dubbed "war crimes" in Gaza and blasted the United States for allegedly aiding the murder of innocent civilians, according to people in attendance.
The former "Chappelle's Show" star said he didn't think students should lose job offers for supporting Palestinians. When a member of the audience told Dave to "shut up," he criticized the Israeli government for cutting off food, water and electricity to Gaza and accused it of killing innocent people.
Some people eventually walked out of the show after the raucous moment. Toward the end of the show, Dave said that two wrongs don't make a right in reference to the Hamas attacks and Israel's subsequent military response.
Responding to the backlash, a spokesperson for the funnyman later told The Wall Street Journal that Dave "denies being in Boston" that night despite the show being listed among his dates by ticket outlets.
