Prominent former CNN anchor Chris Cuomo has criticized comedian Dave Chappelle for allegedly promoting antisemitic sentiments through his jokes about Israel.

Cuomo, 55, focused on a specific remark made by Chappelle during a stand-up performance in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, which addressed the current state of free speech in America.

In his routine, Chappelle humorously mentioned the idea of having a secret phrase that could alert his audience if he were ever ‘co-opted’ by an external influence.

“It has to be something I’d never say normally, so if you ever hear me say it, you’ll know not to trust anything else I say,” explained the 52-year-old comedian.

He continued with the punchline: “Here’s the phrase: I stand with Israel.”

Commenting on this during his NewsNation program on Wednesday, Cuomo remarked, “In case I get co-opted by them… this anonymous evil, that’s supposedly making everything worse, right?”

‘You could never say, “I stand with Israel,” because you’d never believe that?’

‘Because you’d never see any value in supporting the existence and survival of a state and a people that is surrounded by people that want their destruction and act on that on a regular, if not cyclical, basis?’ the host said.

Former CNN host Chris Cuomo said Dave Chappelle is spreading antisemitism by making jokes about Israel on his NewsNation show Wednesday, while also mentioning the comic’s faith. He is seen at the 2025 Tribeca Festival earlier this year

The Tuesday stand-up set in Washington, DC, was filmed as a special for Netflix

‘I don’t think it’s funny, and as someone who begged us to believe he does not wish ill to trans or other people that he jokes at or targets, he should be more aware of spreading anti-Semitism, especially now,’ the host continued, before bringing up Chappelle’s religion.

‘And he probably should tell you that he converted to Islam going on 20 years ago.’ 

Cuomo called that occurrence ‘relevant’.

‘Why? We have to learn that there’s a huge difference between being Muslim and caring about Islam and being an extreme Islamist, okay?’ he said. 

‘And I cannot judge from Dave Chappelle’s behavior how devout a Muslim he is. I mean, he’s walking around smoking and drinking. 

‘I mean, I’m not saying he lives it to the letter, right? But his understanding of the faith clearly affects his politics.’

The said he was ‘was truly disappointed’ in the comic for his behavior. 

Meanwhile, Cuomo was fired by CNN in December 2021 after backing his brother in the sexual harassment case that led to his brother, then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s, resignation. His old 9pm timeslot is now occupied by Kaitlan Collins.

Cuomo was fired by CNN in December 2021 after backing his brotherin the sexual harassment case that led to his brother, then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s, resignation. Andrew recently lost his bid to become New York City’s next mayor to Zohran Mamdani, who is also Muslim

Cuomo’s old 9pm CNN timeslot now belongs to Kaitlan Collins, who is also the network’s chief White House correspondent

Andrew lost to Zohran Mamdani in the race for New York mayor last month.

Mamdani, New York City’s first-ever Muslim mayor-elect, faced heat for condemning Israel’s actions in Gaza during the election.

Chappelle, meanwhile, has faced blowback for appearing in Saudi Arabia for another special earlier this year, due to the country’s poor civil rights record.   

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved the assassination of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

Chappelle addressed the murder during the more recent special, which is now streaming on Netflix.

‘Rest in peace, Jamal Khashoggi. I’m sorry that he got murdered in such a heinous fashion,’ the comic said. ‘Israel’s killed 240 journalists in the last three months. So I didn’t know y’all was still counting.’

Chappelle faced scrutiny for jokes about transgender people in 2021.