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Comedian Who Turned His Back on Fame Returns to the Spotlight to Host Tomorrow’s ‘Saturday Night Live’

Nov 11, 2016  •  Post A Comment

Tomorrow night’s installment of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” will carry some high expectations as the show brings aboard Dave Chappelle as its guest host. Chappelle will reportedly be making his first guest-hosting appearance on the sketch show.

Chappelle previously had his own sketch show, “Chappelle’s Show,” which earned a rabid following before shutting down in 2006 after a short run on Comedy Central. That same year, Esquire called Chappelle the “comic genius of America.”

But Chappelle, who had a number of confrontations with his stand-up audiences around that time, appeared to grow tired of show business. He abruptly halted production on the show in May 2005 and left the country, reportedly walking away from a $50 million contract.

Chappelle’s behavior prompted a flood of rumors about drug addiction and mental health issues. He later told Oprah Winfrey he was upset with the entertainment industry’s attitudes toward African-American performers.

“When I see that they put every black man in the movies in a dress at some point in their career, I start connecting the dots,” Chappelle told the talk host.

More recently he has been performing stand-up again and living with his family in Ohio.

Saturday’s “SNL” will also feature musical guest A Tribe Called Quest.

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