Dave Chappelle and Bowen Yang Kiss on ‘SNL’ One Year After Embarrassing Footage

Dave Chappelle and Bowen Yang once again shared the Saturday evening live scene – and this time it seemed a lot less awkward.

In the final moments of the January 18 episode, which marked Chappelle’s fourth time hosting the show, several SNL The cast and musical guest GloRilla joined the comedian on stage to bid farewell to the audience. During the farewells, Chappelle and Yang briefly kissed.

The moment marked their first on-screen interaction of the evening, as Yang did not appear in any sketches with Chappelle, and it followed the comedian’s surprise appearance on the sketch comedy show last January.

Eagle-eyed fans were surprised to spot the Chapel Show star in the crowd for final goodnights during this Dakota Johnson-hosted episode in 2024. The fact that Yang stood at the other end of the stage from Chappelle with his arms crossed – as awkward footage and photos emerged shows online – left some viewers speculating that he was distancing himself from the controversial comedian. Yang spoke about the distance a few months later, saying that wasn’t the case.

“I stand where I always stand (good night),” Yang said Variety in June. “It wasn’t a physical distance that anyone was creating. It had to do with so many things that were completely internal.”

When asked if Chappelle’s appearance made him unhappy, Yang said, “It was the response from other people on the show. I was just confused, that was all.”

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Chappelle sparked controversy after his 2021 Netflix stand-up special, The nearestin which he made jokes about the transgender community. LGBTQ+ advocacy groups condemned his rhetoric, and Netflix employees staged a strike to protest the show. Chappelle hosted for the last time SNL the following year, then the national director of the Anti-Defamation League criticized his monologue for “popularizing” anti-Semitism.

In this weekend’s episode, Chappelle delivered a 17-minute monologue and admitted he was reluctant to return as host given his tendency to stir up controversy. He added that SNL Boss Lorne Michaels had to persuade him to kick off the first show of the new year, joking: “The moment I said yes, Los Angeles caught fire!”

He added: “I’m tired of being controversial. I’m trying to move on.”

After Chappelle said it was “way too early” to make jokes about the wildfires that destroyed acres of land in Los Angeles, he still found humor in the tragedy, even poking fun of the city’s queer community.

“I’m sure there were a few arsonists,” Chappelle said of the cause of the fires. “But many elements came together to make this fire the disaster that it was. The wind was blowing 100 miles an hour, Los Angeles was bone dry, and the sea walls… There were just too many factors. »

Then he joked, “If you were a rational person, you must at least consider the possibility that God hates these people…the Sodomites!” Pausing to laugh, he added, “And that’s not true because West Hollywood is unscathed… Because how can you burn what’s already on fire?”