Comedian Dave Chappelle slams US, Israel over war crimes in Gaza during Boston show 

Outspoken US comedian Dave Chappelle has criticised the Israeli occupation state and its chief backer, the US, over the on-going genocidal war against the people of Gaza in Palestine.

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on Saturday, Chappelle spoke out against the brutal bombings in Gaza during a performance at the TD Garden Arena in Boston on Thursday, causing some audience members to walk out.

The report noted that the comedian criticised both the Hamas-led resistance operation and the occupation army’s onslaught on Gaza as “war crimes”. He also said that he didn’t think students who were protesting in support of Palestine should lose job offers. This prompted an outburst from someone in the audience to tell him to “shut up”.

From a friend

Something is changing in America

I saw Dave Chappell last night at Boston TD Garden. It was sold out so I would say 22,000 people there. 3/4 into the show he said I want to address what’s going on in Palestine and Israel. 

He specifically said Palestine and…

— Imran Muneer (SIM) (@ImranMuneerTMM) October 20, 2023

The 50-year-old comic and actor is said to have responded in kind and went on to condemn Israel’s decision to cut off food, water and electricity to Gaza and its killing of innocent civilians.

While some crowd members cheered and shouted “Free Palestine!” others asked “What about Hamas?!” while some walked out.

According to one witness, Chappelle told the heckler “don’t come begging for money from my country and then go drop bombs on children and cut off innocent people’s water and electricity. You have the audacity to pay to come see me and then tell me shut the F up no you shut the F up.”

“He went on a 15 minutes rant about being a Muslim and that the Israelis are projecting what’s wrong with them on Muslims and the crowd kept on cheering. It was surreal.”

Chapelle, who had a successful movie and television career, embraced Islam in the 90s after discovering the faith aged 17 and opened up about his religious beliefs three years ago on the Netflix series My Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman.

However, a spokesperson for Chappelle said the comedian “denies being in Boston” that night — despite the show being listed among his dates by ticket outlets. Chappelle has a strict no filming policy at his shows.

READ: UFC champion Khamzat Chimaev calls for peace as Gaza child death toll climbs