Dave Chappelle has divided Saturday Night Live fans with a gory sketch about a family fleeing the devastating Los Angeles fires.

Beginning last Tuesday, the Los Angeles area was struck by its worst windstorms in over a decade, fueling fires that have destroyed thousands of structures and claimed at least 27 lives, though the full death toll is not yet known.

On this weekend’s episode of the iconic sketch show, guest-host Chappelle delivered on the series’ theme of tackling the top headlines of the week.

He plays Reggie, the patriarch of a family evacuating in the face of the oncoming blaze, with Ego Nwodim as his wife and Devon Walker as their son.

As Reggie frantically collects the essentials, his family discovers alarming secrets about him that would have otherwise remained hidden.

And as they do so, Reggie winds up committing two grisly murders onscreen – sending blood splattering all over his family home.

Dave Chappelle has divided Saturday Night Live fans with a gory sketch about a family fleeing the devastating Los Angeles fires

Reggie punches a hole through the wall to discover a fake pᴀssport identifying him as Demetrius Quinn and offering him safe entry to the Dominican Republic.

To his family’s mounting alarm, he also opens up a secret wall-safe and pulls out a gun, asking his son if he knows how to use it.

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The son, a high school student who proudly announces that he plays the bᴀssoon, has no idea how to handle the firearm his father has just given him.

‘I’m sorry, son, I let you down,’ says Reggie, placing a consoling hand on his son’s shoulder before telling him: ‘I raised you soft like a b****.’

No sooner does he mention there are ‘Bosnians coming to kill us’ than a knife-wielding Eastern European man played by Michael Longfellow emerges.

Reggie asks his son, who is holding the gun, to sort out the situation – but the son of course fails to do so, so Reggie is forced to take matters into his own hands.

He shoots the interloper in the neck, sending blood spraying all over the walls and floor, as well as all over his petrified wife and son. 

More secrets emerge, including Reggie’s secret other family – a French woman and her two children kept trapped in a cupboard that he opens to allow them to flee to safety from the oncoming fires.

He plays Reggie, the patriarch of a family evacuating in the face of the oncoming blaze, with Ego Nwodim as his wife and Devon Walker as their son

As his family prepares to evacuate their house, Reggie winds up committing two grisly murders onscreen – sending blood splattering all over his family home

More secrets emerge, including Reggie’s secret other family – a French woman and her two children kept trapped in a cupboard

Reggie’s final act of violence is against the family dog Buster – warmly petting the pooch, he then flips him over and disembowels him to retrieve a drug stash in his innards

‘I’m sorry, son, I let you down,’ says Reggie, placing a consoling hand on his son’s shoulder before telling him: ‘I raised you soft like a b****’

Reggie punches a hole through the wall to discover a fake pᴀssport identifying him as Demetrius Quinn and offering him safe entry to the Dominican Republic

The gruesome sketch was met with a polarized reaction from viewers, with some appreciating the dark humor whilst others were put off

While some watchers posted crying laughing emoji and remarked that the sketch left them ‘rolling’ with laughter, others slated the ‘weird’ and ‘disgusting’ skit

Meanwhile Reggie’s son is bent on saving their dog Buster and is delighted when the pooch finally appears, thinking he is going to be saved. 

Reggie is also pleased to see Buster for different reasons – warmly petting the dog, he then flips him over and disembowels him to retrieve a drug stash in his innards.

The gruesome sketch was met with a polarized reaction from viewers, with some appreciating the dark humor whilst others were put off.

While some watchers posted crying laughing emoji and remarked that the sketch left them ‘rolling’ with laughter, others slated the ‘weird’ and ‘disgusting’ skit, which was accused of ‘promoting gun violence’ and being ‘not funny at all.’