Dave Chappelle weighed in on the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas during a recent standup gig in Boston, The Wall Street Journal reports. On stage at the TD Garden, the comedian condemned the attacks by the militant group on Israel before questioning the country’s own increasingly severe retaliations, proclaiming, “two wrongs don’t make a right.”
According to two people who attended the show, Chappelle criticized the Israeli government for cutting off water and electricity to civilians in the Gaza Strip and accused it of “killing innocent women and children” with American taxpayer dollars “while the whole world sits silently and watches.” At one point, a heckler shouted for the comedian to shut up, but after doubling down, other audience members cheered for Chappelle and broke into a chant of “Free Palestine.”
“You’re damn right, Free Palestine,” Chappelle reportedly responded, before discussing his Muslim faith.
A number of celebrities have spoken out regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict, which began when the de facto government of the Gaza Strip launched a surprise attack throughout Israel, killing hundreds of civilians. Sarah Silverman shared a post supporting Israel’s decision to withhold resources from Gaza, while Quentin Tarantino visited an Israeli military base to boost morale.
In the days since the initial attacks, Israel has launched retaliatory airstrikes against Gaza and cut off resources to the highly populated area, which has since been dubbed an open-air prison. One rocket caused an explosion at a Gaza hospital, killing between 100 and 500 people, due to conflicting reports. The strike was initially thought to be carried out by Israel, but American intelligence agents have since concluded the rocket was likely launched within Gaza and broke up in air, accidentally hitting the hospital.
Chappelle’s North American standup tour continues through the end of this year. Grab tickets to a show here.
