Dave Chappelle knows how to hit the trends. The comedian, who stays in the headlines most of the time for his controversial statements, hosted 2025's first episode of Saturday Night Live and he made sure to mention everything: From Donald Trump's upcoming inauguration to the L.A. wildfires. 

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On Saturday, Chappelle returned as the host at Studio 8H stage for a fourth time. Walking on the stage while smoking a cigarette, the comedian started his monologue with LA fires, before moving on to Sean “Diddy” Combs and his freak-off parties among other topics. 

Chappelle on Donald Trump's inauguration

Talking about Trump's inauguration, Chappelle said, ''Here’s the thing: On Monday, Donald Trump is coming back. It’s going to be the 47th president. All the flags at half-mast because Jimmy Carter died.''

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Concluding the monologue, Chappelle gave out a message for Trump, saying, “The presidency is no place for petty people. Donald Trump, I know you watch the show, man, remember whether people voted for you or not, they’re all counting on you. The whole world is counting on you. Please do better next time.” 

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Mentioning LA fires and genocide in Palestine, Chappelle concluded, “Do not forget your humanity for displaced people whether they’re in the Palisades or Palestine.”

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The comedian has hosted SNL's post-election episodes in November 2016, 2020 and 2022. However, when SNL boss Lorne Michaels approached him to host the event, Chappelle initially said no. 

After Michaels forced him, the comedian finally agreed thinking that he would start fresh getting rid of all old Trump jokes. 

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“I can get rid of all these old Trump jokes and start fresh so you know what, I’ll do it,” he quipped.

“The moment I said yes, L.A. burst into flames,” Chappelle joked, adding, “way too soon to make jokes about a catastrophe like that.”