American comedian Jon Stewart sparked online controversy after he defended Dave Chappelle's comments during his recent Saturday Night Live gig.During an appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on November 15, the 59-year-old star called Chappelle a "very good friend." He also disagreed that the latter "normalized anti-semitism" with his monolog last Saturday.However, he added that censoring such comments would just make it worse.He said: "I don't know if you've been on comment sections on most news articles, but it's pretty normal. It's incredibly normal."He added that he doesn't believe that censorship and penalties are the way to "end anti-Semitism or to gain understanding." Emphasizing that he doesn't believe in it, the comedian said that it was the wrong way to approach it. On the November 12, 2022, episode of SNL, Dave Chappelle addressed rapper Kanye West's anti-Semitic tweets, social media posts, and statements. Chappelle seemed to be defending the rapper by agreeing with the latter's points. Post the gig, Chappelle was slammed by several organizations and publications, including the Anti-Defamation League and the Jerusalem Post, for engaging in anti-Semitism.Twitter reactions on Jon Stewart's comments on Dave Chappelle's SNL gigAfter Jon Stewart's comments defending Dave Chappelle's monolog went viral, Twitter was left divided. Several users slammed the former Daily Show host for siding with someone who propagates "anti-Semitism, transphobia, and homophobia." The Lady Hobbit of Troy, N.Y.@Lady_Hobbit_518@jonstewart Are you really going to stand by someone who perpetuates antisemitism, transphobia, & homophobia on a national scale? Who acts like being part of an oppressed group makes it ok to repeatedly peddle hateful, harmful ideas about other oppressed groups? #DaveChappelle1@jonstewart Are you really going to stand by someone who perpetuates antisemitism, transphobia, & homophobia on a national scale? Who acts like being part of an oppressed group makes it ok to repeatedly peddle hateful, harmful ideas about other oppressed groups? #DaveChappelleMount Clairmont@MountClairmont@RollingStone Don't think it's the "thought" that's being penalized.I have lots of inappropriate thoughts, but I only risk criticism if I vocalize those thoughts publicly. Context matters!1@RollingStone Don't think it's the "thought" that's being penalized.I have lots of inappropriate thoughts, but I only risk criticism if I vocalize those thoughts publicly. Context matters!🌻Rev Barney (Daniel) Cohost of Heresy & Hearsay@sephirothii@thedailybeast @colbertlateshow Come Jon stop defending this guy… I know you love him but come on.1@thedailybeast @colbertlateshow Come Jon stop defending this guy… I know you love him but come on.Chairman of the Bored@barrettjhIf @jonstewart says we shouldn’t penalize people for thoughts, I’d like him to be specific about what penalty Dave Chappelle has endured113If @jonstewart says we shouldn’t penalize people for thoughts, I’d like him to be specific about what penalty Dave Chappelle has enduredJoe Rosenthal@josenthalI think this needs to be asked: @jonstewart, did you watch and “send nice texts,” to Dave Chappelle after his intensely transphobic The Closer special?81I think this needs to be asked: @jonstewart, did you watch and “send nice texts,” to Dave Chappelle after his intensely transphobic The Closer special? https://t.co/I0RYKTmZzELinda Kindopp@kindopp_linda@nypost I didn’t like his remarks at all thought he was offensive@nypost I didn’t like his remarks at all thought he was offensiveAngel Eduardo@StrangelEdweirdI wish this Jon Stewart would replace the Jon Stewart on “The Problem, with Jon Stewart,” because that Jon Stewart has lately exhibited a tendency to do precisely what this Jon Stewart is advocating against.youtu.be/6V_sEqfIL9Q437I wish this Jon Stewart would replace the Jon Stewart on “The Problem, with Jon Stewart,” because that Jon Stewart has lately exhibited a tendency to do precisely what this Jon Stewart is advocating against.youtu.be/6V_sEqfIL9QReal Housewife of SF@realhauswifesfSigh. @jonstewart: #Kanye and #DaveChappelle apologist. The reason we have to shut #Antisemites down & not give them a bullhorn w/ which to spew hate is that it lets everyone know that hate isn't tolerated by civilized society. Hate-mongers should be shunned.1Sigh. @jonstewart: #Kanye and #DaveChappelle apologist. The reason we have to shut #Antisemites down & not give them a bullhorn w/ which to spew hate is that it lets everyone know that hate isn't tolerated by civilized society. Hate-mongers should be shunned.Screenshot of a Twitter user criticizing Jon Stewart.Screenshot of a Twitter user criticizing Jon Stewart.Meanwhile, others agreed with Jon Steward about open communication on such topics and even lauded him for being "mature and empathetic."Allan Peda 🇺🇦@allanpeda@VanityFair Jon is right. n the long run, if you want to encourage hate speech, the best thing to to is to tell people that they can't say certain things. Jon's argument is about encouraging honesty and rewarding civil dialogue. It's not about letting anyone say anything without opposition.@VanityFair Jon is right. n the long run, if you want to encourage hate speech, the best thing to to is to tell people that they can't say certain things. Jon's argument is about encouraging honesty and rewarding civil dialogue. It's not about letting anyone say anything without opposition.Richard Goldwasser@_Goldwasser_By acting like a mature, empathetic human being, Jon Stewart has done more in twelve minutes to explain and fight antisemitism than what we’ve seen from the “pros” during the last two weeks. And he didn’t charge anyone $500,000 to do it. youtube.com/watch?v=6V_sEq…10227By acting like a mature, empathetic human being, Jon Stewart has done more in twelve minutes to explain and fight antisemitism than what we’ve seen from the “pros” during the last two weeks. And he didn’t charge anyone $500,000 to do it. youtube.com/watch?v=6V_sEq…Lois Lane@padamentalistI kinda see what Dave Chappelle and Jon Stewart are saying. Drowning out adverse opinions is pointless - all it does is make people double down on what they believe. Some people who aren't saying anything out loud probably believe even worse things. Communication is key. Always.3I kinda see what Dave Chappelle and Jon Stewart are saying. Drowning out adverse opinions is pointless - all it does is make people double down on what they believe. Some people who aren't saying anything out loud probably believe even worse things. Communication is key. Always.fElon Musk@JauntyPlatypus@reggiewatts @DaveChappelle I have been really struggling with my take on the SNL monologue but Jon Stewart helped A LOT. There is no simplifying any of it, but he helped. Long, but so worth watching. youtu.be/6V_sEqfIL9Q28118@reggiewatts @DaveChappelle I have been really struggling with my take on the SNL monologue but Jon Stewart helped A LOT. There is no simplifying any of it, but he helped. Long, but so worth watching. youtu.be/6V_sEqfIL9QJon Stewart suggests anti-Jew comments need to be dealt in a straightforward manner Explaining why Dave Chappelle should not be accused of normalizing anti-Semitism, Jon said that controversial comments like these need to be dealt in "a straightforward manner." He said that if this isn't done, people will never have an understanding with each other. The 59-year-old said that Chappelle's comments in the monologue were something that he believed was constructive. He agreed with Chappelle's statement that "it shouldn't be so hard to talk about things." Jon added that he can't pretend that there are far too many people in the world who believe that Jewish people have an "unreasonable amount of control over the systems." Brittany King@brittkingzSeeing them together again is sooooo special to me @StephenAtHome @jonstewart @colbertlateshow94076Seeing them together again is sooooo special to me @StephenAtHome @jonstewart @colbertlateshow https://t.co/QISip3KKznHe also noted that Dave Chappelle is not the only comedian to discuss controversial stereotypes. As he stated that comedy was reductive, the comedian said that comedians played with tropes as everyone had prejudices and the way they looked at things. He said that comedians "rely on those prejudices as shorthand" for their material. He even said that even the most woke comedians "play with tropes to a certain extent."Jon Stewart, who is of Jewish heritage, also admitted that he does get affected by controversial comments made in the recent past. View this post on Instagram Instagram PostHe said that he didn't enjoy it and added: "You know, when people I admire, with music I like, come out and say, 'How many of you are in show business?' If we all just shut it down, then we retreat to our little corners of misinformation and it metastasizes. The whole point of all this is to not let it metastasize and to get it out in the air and talk about it."As of writing, neither Dave Chappelle nor Stewart have addressed the online backlash over their comments.