Dave Chappelle returned to host Saturday Night Live on Saturday, January 18, kicking off the episode with a 17-minute opening monologue.
Chappelle, 51, discussed a whole host of topics, including Sean “Diddy” Combs’ ongoing legal battles.
“It’s just no fun being famous anymore. It’s, like, y’all made it scary,” the comedian said in the middle of his opening remarks. “It feels like I’m storming the beaches of Normandy in World War II, but I got to keep a happy expression on my face all the time. So, imagine all the danger storming the beach, but I still [have a smile].”
He continued, “The bullets whizzing by and stuff is exploding; I’m just like [happy]. Then every once in a while, something terrible happens and I’ll be like, ‘Oh, Puffy got hit.’ And Puffy be like, ‘Oh, keep going playboy. I kicked the bitch in the face and forgot about it.’”
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Diddy, who previously went by the nickname Puff Diddy and later P. Diddy, was indicted by a grand jury in September 2024 shortly before he was arrested on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering, conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution. A 14-page indictment — which cited Diddy’s infamous parties, nicknamed “Freak-Offs” — claimed that Diddy “abused, threatened and coerced women and others around him” for decades.
Diddy, 55, has repeatedly denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
In his SNL monologue, Chappelle further said that Diddy “is in an enormous amount of trouble.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this,” Chappelle said. “They got this guy in a Rico [case] by himself. My friends ask me, ‘Dave, did you know anything about those freak-off parties?’ I’d be like, ‘Nah, man. I don’t know anything about the freak-off.’”
Chappelle then alluded to the possibility that his unnamed acquaintances had previously attended Diddy’s infamous gatherings.
“They’d be like, ‘Well, how are these people who [you] know was at that freak-off, but you’re the only one that wasn’t?’ I thought about it for a minute and I said, ‘Oh, my God, I’m ugly.’ Boy, that’s a tough way to find that out. Can you imagine if you were me reading a newspaper and found out everyone in Hollywood had an orgy behind your back?”
Chappell, however, was ultimately relieved he was never invited to one of Diddy’s parties given the ongoing scandal.
“I’m glad they didn’t call me, though, because the stories that are coming out about it are crazy,” he said. “Clearly, I have snitch energy.”
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Diddy is currently incarcerated in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center until his trial, which is scheduled to begin later this year. A judge denied him bail on four separate appeals.
“We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” Diddy’s attorney Marc Agnifilo told Us Weekly in a statement. “Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, adoring his children and working to uplift the Black community. He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal.”
The statement concluded, “To his credit, Mr. Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges. Please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts. These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
Saturday Night Live airs on NBC Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. ET.
