Sophia Michaels
As he did after the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, Dave Chappelle has once again been tasked with hosting Saturday Night Live for their first post-Election Day episode, this time for the 2022 midterms.
Chappelle will bring along Black Star — the duo of Yasiin Bey and Talib Kweli — as musical guest; the renowned hip-hop duo reunited earlier this year for their long-anticipated second album No Fear of Time, their first LP in 24 years.
No Fear of Time was released through Luminary, where the duo host The Midnight Miracle podcast along with Dave Chappelle, and Bey and Kweli previously stated that the album was recorded entirely “in hotel rooms and backstage at Dave Chappelle shows.”
After both Election Day 2016 (where Donald Trump won over Hillary Clinton) and 2020 (where Joe Biden defeated Trump), Chappelle was called upon to guide SNL through the aftermath, with the comedian’s incisive monologue in 2020 earning him an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.
Ahead of a contentious 2022 midterms where the balance of power can shift and abortion rights, voting rights, LBGTQ+ rights and much more are on the line, SNL will once again lean on Chappelle to captain the situation on the comedic front.
However, the past few years haven’t been without controversy for the comedian as he’s faced backlash (and was “cancelled“) over a litany of transphobic jokes in Netflix specials like The Closer.
