Dave Chappelle Stars in ‘SNL’ Sketch About Uncle Ben and Aunt Jemima
Written by SOURCE on November 8, 2020
Coincidentally, Dave Chappelle was on hand at Saturday Night Live to watch America change its guard like he was four years prior. Although he’s unintentionally become a constant, a lot has changed since Chappelle last appeared on the show. The comedian decided to touch on America’s new status quo via a sketch that featured several racist brand images.
Unfortunately, being Black in America means you have to pick your battles. If you were to ask any Black person if Uncle Ben and/or Aunt Jemima was racist, they’d tell you, “yes, but not as racist as police brutality or the War on Drugs.” Still, in an attempt to overhaul America, Uncle Ben’s rice and Aunt Jemima pancake products were targeted in 2020 for upholding slave imagery. Chappelle and SNL toyed with this by creating a sketch in which Uncle Ben and Aunt Jemima are fired.
“This is ridiculous. If we can’t work, how come the Allstate guy gets to work?” Kenan Thompson’s Uncle Ben said about Chappelle who played Allstate Insurance pitchman Dennis Haysbert.
“Now wait a cotton-picking minute Uncle Ben. I knew you would sell me out,” Chappelle responded after bursting into laughter.
“It’s nothing personal, son. If we getting fired then you should be getting fired, too,” Thompson said, while Maya Rudolph’s Aunt Jemima added: “Yeah, fire Allstate guy too.”
Chappelle’s Allstate character then tried to deflect the heat, explaining that he merely sells insurance. “I sell security. My deep Black voice makes white people feel safe. Like they are in good hands…If anything, why don’t you fire Count Chocula, why is he still working?” he questioned.
“Look at those big chocolatey lips behind them fangs,” Chappelle said about Count Chocula, played by Pete Davidson. “Seriously, America, look at Pete Davidson’s lip.” This made Davidson laugh so hard that his fangs fell out of his mouth. It also forced Alec Baldwin—who was playing the boardroom executive in charge of firing Uncle Ben and Aunt Jemima—to make an executive decision.
“That’s enough. You are all fired except the Allstate guy,” Baldwin said.
Watch the full sketch above. Also, watch a sketch where Dave Chappelle takes on a news anchor’s persona to report Donald Trump taking the Washington, DC police on an OJ Simpson-esque high-speed chase.
