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Comedians are weighing in on the attack against Dave Chappelle at the Hollywood Bowl Tuesday night.
Chappelle was performing as part of the “Netflix Is a Joke” festival when he was attacked on stage. Police have identified the suspect as Isaiah Lee, 23.
Lee was carrying a replica gun with a knife blade inside when he attacked Chappelle during the show, police say.
Comedians took to Twitter after the attack to share their thoughts.
Dave Chappelle was attacked onstage while performing at the Hollywood Bowl Tuesday night. (Mathieu Bitton/Netflix)
Howie Mandel spoke with Extra’s Billy Bush about how the attack against Chappelle will affect his future in comedy.
“Watching what happened to Dave last night confirmed my fear. I was watching it kind of live on Twitter and I turned to my wife and I said, ‘I don’t want to. I don’t want to go on stage. I’m just really afraid.’”
Bush asked Mandel what he planned to do about touring.
“The love of what we do is fading … joking now has no safety net,” Mandel replied.
Howie Mandel recently said, “The love of what we do is fading … joking now has no safety net.” (REUTERS/Mike Segar)
“I’m actually going to do less because the love is not as fervent as it was, you know … six months ago. Because fear overtakes … and I’m a guy who, you know, lives with worry anyway … I’ve been open about my mental health. I am neurotic. I suffer from depression.”
Tim Young took to Twitter Wednesday morning and wrote, “We can all thank Will Smith for setting the example that led to Dave Chappelle getting assaulted on stage last night.”
In March, Smith approached the stage and slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars after Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald head. Pinkett Smith has been open about her struggle with alopecia.
COMEDIAN DAVE CHAPPELLE ATTACKED ON STAGE WHILE PERFORMING AT HOLLYWOOD BOWL IN LOS ANGELES
Stand-up comic Tony Baker sent out a tweet early Wednesday morning saying, “Attacking people on stage aint gon fly”.
“Some dude tackled Dave Chappelle on stage and that dude got stomped out forthwith,” Baker’s tweet said. “They took his arm off and put it back on backwards. That’s what he get. This attacking people on stage aint gon fly.”
The suspect in Chappelle’s onstage attack was arrested Tuesday around 10:50 p.m. after he allegedly stormed the stage and tackled the comedian. He was subsequently charged with assault with a deadly weapon, the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed to Fox News Digital Wednesday.
Meanwhile, a rep for Chappelle told Fox News Digital the comedian refuses to let Tuesday night’s attack “overshadow the magic” of his four performances.
“Dave Chappelle celebrated four nights of comedy and music, setting record-breaking sales for a comedian at the Hollywood Bowl,” his representative said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital. “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.”
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Will Smith, right, hits presenter Chris Rock on stage while presenting the award for best documentary feature at the Oscars March 27. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
The attack happened toward the end of Chappelle’s stand-up routine. The comedian thanked both Busta Rhymes and Jamie Foxx for helping out following the attack.
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Fox News’ Lauryn Overhultz contributed to this report.
