Moment Dave Chappelle tosses a lit cigarette off the stage at SNL

In existent Dave Chappelle fashion, the comedian smoked his mode done his Saturday Night Live monologue - and tossed the lit bud close disconnected the stage.

The four-time big returned to Rockefeller Plaza successful New York City this play to unfastened up the archetypal amusement of 2025, contempt his appearances having drawn contention since his monologue aft Trump won successful 2016.

His latest offering was definite to beryllium nary exception, arsenic helium riffed connected topics ranging from Donald Trump to the Los Angeles fires to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

But it wouldn't beryllium a Chappelle stand-up without a cigaret successful hand.

Wearing a navy bluish suit, the 51-year-old arguable comic walked retired connected signifier portion puffing connected a cigaret to statesman his 17-minute monologue.

While sitting connected a stool and smoking, the comic initially joked that the lone crushed helium agreed to big the late-night unrecorded sketch drama amusement again was to pain disconnected aged Trump jokes.  

One of those jokes were successful notation to Springfield, wherever the erstwhile president claimed that Haitian immigrants were eating residents' pets during the statesmanlike statement successful September.

Chappelle, who lives conscionable 1 municipality implicit successful Ohio, spoke of the unfounded contention - noting however Trump's speculation made him 'crazy'.

He claimed that they had travel legally and 'did the jobs the whites weren't doing'. 

In hopes helium could beryllium supportive, Chappelle spent 10 days eating his luncheon astatine a Haitian edifice successful Springfield 'to fto them cognize if I'm harmless here, you guys are decidedly harmless here.' 

But portion joking astir the anticipation of leaving the authorities on with the Haitians,  claiming that 'it's conscionable nary amusive being celebrated anymore', helium glared astatine the lit cigaret betwixt his fingers, took 1 past resistance and tossed it disconnected the stage.

With thing successful his hands too the microphone, Chappelle instantly continued to talk astir however being celebrated has turned scary - comparing the feeling to 'storming the formation of Normandy successful World War II'.

Chappelle - astatine 1 constituent joking that helium was 'tired of being controversial' and hoping to 'turn implicit a caller leaf' - ended his acceptable connected the NBC amusement discussing Trump, saying: 'He'll beryllium the 47th president, he's done it again.'  

The net wasted nary clip successful taking to societal media to sermon the comedian's stand-up - and to constituent retired his precise communal fume habit.

'I emotion however Dave Chappelle is gonna fume a cigaret successful each sketch,' 1 remark connected X read.

'For what it's worth, it's 100 percent amerciable for Dave Chappelle to beryllium smoking wrong Studio 8H. And dropping a lit cigaret connected stage? Woof,' different 1 said.

Another read: 'I anticipation that Dave Chappelle doing his SNL monologue casually smoking a cig volition beryllium a turning constituent to America yet admitting that smoking is and ever was cool.'

'Chappelle's cig smoking regular is truthful f***ing tired. Also it's amerciable and disrespectful arsenic f***. I don't cognize wherefore they fto him bash it,' different added.   

'This cigaret has got to beryllium successful Chappelle's declaration LOL,' 1 remark connected X read. 'It don't substance wherever helium is, Dave is lighting up!'

But this weekend's amusement wasn't the archetypal clip Chappelle has been seen accompanied by a cigarette.

Whether it's hosting Saturday Night Live, signaling his Netflix peculiar oregon graciously accepting an award, Chappelle ever seems to beryllium partaking successful a idiosyncratic smoke-sesh.

Back successful 2019, the comic fearlessly smoked portion accepting the Mark Twain Prize astatine the Kennedy Center.

'I privation everyone successful America close present to look astatine me. Look astatine maine smoking indoors,' Chappelle said during the ceremony.

'I didn't inquire anybody. What are they gonna do? Kick maine retired earlier I get the prize?' helium added. 'It's called leverage.'

In 2012, the Winter Garden - a theatre successful Toronto, Canada - got a telephone from the nationalist wellness section aft Chappelle chain-smoked cigarettes passim the 75-minute acceptable of his three-show pop-up gig.

Kris Scheuer, a spokeswoman for the department, said the telephone was to punctual the theatre of the provincial Smoke-Free Ontario Act, which states that 'all performers indispensable beryllium successful compliance with the nary baccy usage legislation. There are nary exemptions,' The Hollywood Reporter reported.

Luckily for Chappelle, the United States is much free-wheeling - allowing performers to fume connected signifier if the 'person who is smoking does truthful portion performing connected signifier arsenic portion of a theatrical production'.

But what does smoking bash for Chappelle?

In elemental words - helium likes to. It relaxes him, according to Cracked. 

Mark Gagnon, the big of the drama podcast Camp Gagnon, discussed Chappelle speaking to Neil Brennan backmost successful his aboriginal 20s astir the creation of smoking successful a 2023 episode. 

More notably, helium discussed however the comedian smokes arsenic a mode to interruption the hostility helium creates with the assemblage during his sets.

During a stand-up drama show implicit a decennary ago, Chappelle discussed astir the lone nine helium ever got kicked retired of for smoking - the portion club. 

So it's just to accidental this isn't the past we'll spot of Chappelle puffing connected a cigaret - except, of course, if it's astatine a portion club.