As we previously reported, Dave Chappelle was attacked by a man during his comedy set at the Hollywood Bowl. Today, the comedian and Netflix, which produced the festival of which the show was a part, both issued statements regarding the matter.
Just minutes after a man rushed the stage and tackled Dave Chappelle during his set, Chris Rock made his way onstage and quipped about his own Oscars incident with Will Smith. https://t.co/cOgcXO6Bgv pic.twitter.com/P0t3bPILoX
— E! News (@enews) May 4, 2022
“Dave Chappelle celebrated four nights of comedy and music, setting record-breaking sales for a comedian at the Hollywood Bowl,” read the statement. “This run ties Chappelle with Monty Python for the most headlined shows by any comedian at the Hollywood Bowl, reaching 70k fans of diverse backgrounds during the first Netflix Is A Joke: The Festival, and he refuses to allow last night’s incident to overshadow the magic of this historic moment.”
The statement continues, “As unfortunate and unsettling as the incident was, Chappelle went on with the show. Jamie Foxx and Chris Rock helped calm the crowd with humor before Chappelle introduced the last and featured musical guests for the evening, hip-hop artists yasiin bey and Talib Kweli, a.k.a. Black Star, who performed music from their new album – the first in nearly 24 years – which was released on Luminary. Other special comedic guests last night included Earthquake, Leslie Jones, Jeff Ross, Sebastian, Jon Stewart, and Michelle Wolf.”
“You can buy yourself another couch, what am I gonna do about my arm!” #DaveChappelle #DaveChappelleAttacked #fuckyocouch #charliemurphey #rickjames pic.twitter.com/bfd225T5X2
— Fibonaut (@MediaFibonaut) May 5, 2022
Dave chappelle fell off and ppl are riding on what he used to be. Also to make such an accusation with such a large fan base is dangerous to the community as it’s already under scrutiny. My identity is a joke to this man and i wish that guy would’ve got some real licks in https://t.co/VVoID6DatP
— wackbby (@wack_bby) May 5, 2022
By all accounts, Foxx and Rock actually helped calm the crowd — and restrain the attacker, in Foxx’s case.
RELATED:Dave Chappelle Attacker Identified As Isaiah Lee
Chappelle also attempted to ease jangled nerves just before he left the stage — perhaps to prevent violence from surging among the understandably wound-up crowd — saying “Everybody compose yourselves.”
So the Dave Chappelle attacker was there to kill Dave? This was premeditated. Who should we say incited this violence? If Dave Chappelle’s jokes are violence then how do we classify assault with a deadly weapon? pic.twitter.com/TbqWl9o6Pp
— Nia Educational (@NiaEducational) May 5, 2022
A Netflix spokesperson: “We care deeply about the safety of creators and we strongly defend the right of stand-up comedians to perform on stage without fear of violence.”
Now comedy clubs have announced that they are beefing up their security to protect comedians following Dave Chappelle’s incident.