Dave Chappelle roasted Donald Trump's handling of the Israel-Iran conflict during his show in Abu Dhabi on Friday night.
Travelling to the Gulf days after a ceasefire went into effect, the American comedian made light of the US President's unpredictability during his performance at a sold-out Etihad Arena as part of Abu Dhabi Comedy Season.
“Trump – I don't know about this guy. I can't tell if he's going to do good or not,” Chapelle said, adding: “What a week you guys must have had over here in the Middle East.”
The 51-year-old entertainer also brought up the US President's Saturday Truth Social post announcing the air strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities.
“Trump wrote that 'we did a meticulously perfect attack. We have disabled their nuclear facility'. And then at the end of the post he said 'and now is the time for peace!' Word? I don’t think that’s how this works, champ,” Chappelle said.
The comedian also made reference to the March security scandal surrounding US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who shared attack plans on the Houthis through his Signal account.
“Trump bombed Iran, in an attack that was carefully planned on WhatsApp,” Chapelle said.
Chappelle made light of growing concern in the US over the continuing regional conflict, saying: “Everybody in America is scared. It’s not good when Bible places are in the news. That means it might be the end of times. And if it is, you know what? I had a good run.”
When an audience member yelled out the name of Palestinian-American musician DJ Khaled, the comedian questioned why the DJ has remained silent over the war in Gaza.
“DJ Khaled, let me tell you something. For a Palestinian, this man is awfully quiet right now. And as a Palestinian, how could you be that quiet right now? And why are you so fat? People are starving. He’s the only fat Palestinian on Earth right now,” Chappelle joked.
The comedian has been outspoken about the suffering of Palestinians since the Israel-Gaza war began. Last year, during his show in Abu Dhabi, he described Israel's actions in Gaza as “genocide” to cheers from the audience.
He has tempered his criticism of Trump since his re-election, urging the American leader to have empathy for the people of Palestine during his January appearance on Saturday Night Live.
And while he did not comment directly on Palestine in his latest UAE performance, he did end by making his stance on the matter clear.
“Now that I’m a big powerful voice in America, I’ve learnt that I have to be careful. I can get in some kind of trouble and they’ll try to extort me and put words in my mouth so that I come out here and lie to you,” Chappelle said.
“So if that ever happens, we need a phrase. It has to be something that I would never say. So that if I say it, you know not to listen to anything I say after that. You ready? The phrase is: I stand with Israel.”
Abu Dhabi Comedy Season 2025 is set to conclude next month with US comedian Bill Burr's performance on July 12.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Day 5, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day When Dilruwan Perera dismissed Yasir Shah to end Pakistan’s limp resistance, the Sri Lankans charged around the field with the fevered delirium of a side not used to winning. Trouble was, they had not. The delivery was deemed a no ball. Sri Lanka had a nervy wait, but it was merely a stay of execution for the beleaguered hosts.
Stat of the day – 5 Pakistan have lost all 10 wickets on the fifth day of a Test five times since the start of 2016. It is an alarming departure for a side who had apparently erased regular collapses from their resume. “The only thing I can say, it’s not a mitigating excuse at all, but that’s a young batting line up, obviously trying to find their way,” said Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s coach.
The verdict Test matches in the UAE are known for speeding up on the last two days, but this was extreme. The first two innings of this Test took 11 sessions to complete. The remaining two were done in less than four. The nature of Pakistan’s capitulation at the end showed just how difficult the transition is going to be in the post Misbah-ul-Haq era.
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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more from Janine di Giovanni
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
The biog
Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives.
The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast.
As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau
He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker.
If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah
House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
- Camden, London
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Islington, London
- Kensington and Chelsea, London
- Highlands, Scotland
- Argyll and Bute, Scotland
- Fife, Scotland
- Tower Hamlets, London
FIXTURES
All games 6pm UAE on Sunday:
Arsenal v Watford
Burnley v Brighton
Chelsea v Wolves
Crystal Palace v Tottenham
Everton v Bournemouth
Leicester v Man United
Man City v Norwich
Newcastle v Liverpool
Southampton v Sheffield United
West Ham v Aston Villa
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The BIO:
He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal
He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side
By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam
Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border
He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push
His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level
In Full Flight: A Story of Africa and Atonement
John Heminway, Knopff
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Cologne v Hoffenheim (11.30pm)
Saturday
Hertha Berlin v RB Leipzig (6.30pm)
Schalke v Fortuna Dusseldof (6.30pm)
Mainz v Union Berlin (6.30pm)
Paderborn v Augsburg (6.30pm)
Bayern Munich v Borussia Dortmund (9.30pm)
Sunday
Borussia Monchengladbach v Werder Bremen (4.30pm)
Wolfsburg v Bayer Leverkusen (6.30pm)
SC Freiburg v Eintracht Frankfurt (9on)
if you go
The flights
Emirates fly direct from Dubai to Houston, Texas, where United have direct flights to Managua. Alternatively, from October, Iberia will offer connections from Madrid, which can be reached by both Etihad from Abu Dhabi and Emirates from Dubai.
The trip
Geodyssey’s (Geodyssey.co.uk) 15-night Nicaragua Odyssey visits the colonial cities of Leon and Granada, lively country villages, the lake island of Ometepe and a stunning array of landscapes, with wildlife, history, creative crafts and more. From Dh18,500 per person, based on two sharing, including transfers and tours but excluding international flights. For more information, visit visitnicaragua.us.
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