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It's 2020 & Dave Chappelle Still Thinks It's Cool to Make AIDS Jokes
A shot at Freddie Mercury during Saturday Night Live was not well received by LGBTQ+ viewers.
Comedian Dave Chappelle hosted Saturday Night Live this past weekend and as usual with his brand of "provocative" humor, his opening monologue featured a flurry of distasteful and unfunny jokes. Some are calling the entirety of the opening "incisive" or "grimly funny" or "an illuminating mess," which is all debatable, but thrown in the mix was a particularly homophobic joke about iconic Queen frontman Freddie Mercury.
During his series of hot takes on Donald Trump getting voted out of office, he commented on the president catching coronavirus last month. "Trump getting coronavirus was like when Freddie Mercury got AIDS," he said in the 16-minute monologue. "Nobody was like, 'Well how did he get it?'"
The "joke" received some uncomfortable laughs from the audience.
Mercury died in 1991 from AIDS-related complications. Chappelle's comment disrespects Mercury's legacy and death, makes light of a virus that wiped out a whole generation of LGBTQ+ people, perpetuates the myth that all queer men die of AIDS, and elicits laughs-off of misinformation that fuels pervasive homophobic stereotypes to this day.
Saturday Night Live seems to be getting less and less funny with each passing season and with hosts like Chappelle, it's easy to see why. Just last year, he swatted away criticism about anti-trans jokes in his Netflix special. Chappelle continuously takes low-blows at the LGBTQ+ community when he could use his platform for something good, or at the very least, keep our names out of his mouth.
Viewers weren't happy with the "joke."
\u201c@theejayy Dave Chappelle is transparently homophobic and transphobic and even that aside, this humor is bad. I cant say I\u2019m surprised he made suvh a tactless joke....\u201d— The Pyrate Cove Fursuits (@The Pyrate Cove Fursuits) 1604874929
\u201cY'all really see it for Dave Chappelle and then he gotta ruin it with that messed up joke of how Freddie Mercury died (from AIDS) and then I'm reminded of why I can't with him. #SNL\u201d— Ernest Owens (@Ernest Owens) 1604815337
\u201csnl is on but im not up for watching dave chappelle make a homophobic aids joke about freddie mercury in his monologue with my own eyes so have fun yall\u201d— easy mac (@easy mac) 1604812759
None— Ben (@Ben) 1604868233
\u201cWe really just letting Dave Chappelle make AIDS jokes on live TV now huh\u201d— Kepler! (@Kepler!) 1604813916
\u201cCool, it\u2019s 2020, and \u201cjokes\u201d about Freddie Mercury contracting AIDS are funny again; a joke made with the unspoken presumption that he was a man having a lot of sex with men, so of course he got AIDS. Yep, hilarious, Dave Chappelle and #SNL. Thanks for that.\u201d— Tim Teeman (@Tim Teeman) 1604812691
\u201cDave Chappelle made an AIDS joke on SNL? Are we ever surprised about the things that come out of that Milk Dud\u2019s mouth?\u201d— \u039bDRI\u039bN (@\u039bDRI\u039bN) 1604939765
\u201cI don\u2019t understand this delight in Dave Chappelle. I just saw his opening monologue for SNL & he made fun of a man that died from AIDS. That\u2019s not funny. \n\nWhy do people put up with this? Do they just not hear the joke? Or just don\u2019t care?\u201d— Honor\u00e9e Fanonne Jeffers (@Honor\u00e9e Fanonne Jeffers) 1604817805
\u201cfuck you dAvE cHapPelLe...freddie getting AIDS is not a damn joke and you should be ashamed of yourself. also the \u201cfreddie mercury aids jokes\u201d are unfunny and over done...we fucking get it, he\u2019s dead, choke \ud83d\udd95\ud83c\udffehttps://t.co/5YYCOSmGdv\u201d— \ud83c\udd71\ufe0f \u148dO\u1587\u15eaIE loves freddie (@\ud83c\udd71\ufe0f \u148dO\u1587\u15eaIE loves freddie) 1604888789
Taylor Henderson is a PRIDE.com contributor. This proud Texas Bama studied Media Production/Studies and Sociology at The University of Texas at Austin, where he developed his passions for pop culture, writing, and videography. He's absolutely obsessed with Beyoncé, mangoes, and cheesy YA novels that allow him to vicariously experience the teen years he spent in the closet. He's also writing one!
Taylor Henderson is a PRIDE.com contributor. This proud Texas Bama studied Media Production/Studies and Sociology at The University of Texas at Austin, where he developed his passions for pop culture, writing, and videography. He's absolutely obsessed with Beyoncé, mangoes, and cheesy YA novels that allow him to vicariously experience the teen years he spent in the closet. He's also writing one!
