Elon Musk (and Grimes) will make their Saturday Night Live debut this weekend, and all the fuss about the billionaire hosting the show doesn’t seem to phase another former host.
As Deadline detailed, Dave Chappelle appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast to talk about a number of things, including Musk’s forthcoming taping in Studio 8H. Chappelle himself hosted the show earlier in Season 46, a few weeks before he tested positive for coronavirus after some shows in Texas where he actually hung out with Musk and his partner, Grimes.
Rogan interviews are always sprawling, and so Chappelle and Rogan touched on a number of things like how Idris Elba used to sell Chappelle weed. But perhaps inevitably, the two touched on Musk’s appearance and reports that some members of the SNL cast weren’t thrilled that he would be hosting the show. Rogan set the scene with some high praise for Musk, calling him one of the “most brilliant” people ever and assuming that he isn’t “woke enough” as the reason people were upset he’s hosting.
“No one is woke enough,” Rogan said. “They can’t appreciate the fact that you’re dealing with one of the most brilliant men that’s ever lived.”
Chappelle recalled his interactions with the Tesla CEO, describing him as “incredibly kind.”
Chappelle didn’t have nearly as high praise for Musk as Rogan, obviously, and seemed to imply he can understand what people are talking about with their outrage. But he’s also criticized, well, critics plenty in his past. And though he understands why people have gripes with Grimes’ husband, he says the way critics go about it may not be very productive here.
Chappelle suggested he understood why some people were put off by Musk’s behavior.
“Like you said, no one can be woke enough,” the comedian said. “I’m torn, because I like a warrior for a good cause, but I’m really into tactics. You’re not gonna nag people into behaving … In fact, if you continue with this tone, even if you’re right, you’ll be very hard to hear.”
Chappelle also mentioned at one point during the interview that he completely forgot he had met Musk earlier in life, which may be funnier than anything Musk comes up with for his monologue. There are also some really interesting insights about his decision to walk away from Chappelle’s Show on Comedy Central more than a decade ago. But the conversation made it clear that comedian friends of Elon Musk certainly don’t see the problem with Musk trying comedy. Which is exactly what will happen on Saturday.
[via Deadline]