Dave Chappelle Calls DJ Khaled the 'Only Fat Palestinian on Earth' While Criticizing Musician's Silence on Gaza

Dave Chappelle called DJ Khaled the "only fat Palestinian on Earth" while criticizing the musician's silence on the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

During a comedy set in Abu Dhabi last week, the 51-year-old comedian criticized the Palestinian-American musician, who has a net worth of $95 million and more than 45 million social media followers, for remaining silent while Israel has killed at least 57,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023.

"DJ Khaled, let me tell you something," Chappelle stated, according to reporting by Haaretz. "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 added.

Khaled, born Khaled Mohamed Khaled, wrote in his memoir "The Keys" that his parents fled Palestine in the 1980s and arrived in the United States with just $20. To survive, they sold clothes out of their van, working, as he put it, "every day, seven days a week, 24 hours a day," according to Haaretz. "If I wanted to hang out with my mother and father, I had to hang out with them hustling," Khaled stated during a 2016 interview.

Chappelle, by contrast, has publicly expressed support for Palestine. During a May 2024 comedy show also in Abu Dhabi, he accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, adding, "Tens of billions [of dollars] from my country go to kill innocent women and children."

Violence in the Gaza Strip has intensified significantly in recent weeks. Since March, Israeli forces have blocked all humanitarian aid from entering the region, including vital supplies like baby formula, resulting in the deaths of dozens of newborns and worsening already dire conditions on the ground.

Israeli troops, alongside alleged American mercenaries, have reportedly targeted Palestinians at all four Israel- and U.S.-backed food aid distribution sites in Gaza. Since the sites opened at the end of May, at least 700 Palestinians have been killed by indiscriminate gunfire and drone strikes, with thousands more injured.

Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continue to bomb refugee camps, shelters and hospitals, all of which are protected under international law and traditionally considered off-limits during armed conflict.