Dave Chappelle and Netflix issue statements about Hollywood Bowl attack
"[Chappelle] refuses to allow last night’s incident to overshadow the magic of this historic moment."
Netflix and Dave Chappelle have now both issued public statements about the incident that took place at the Hollywood Bowl last night, in which Chappelle’s performance was interrupted by a man—later arrested and identified as 23-year-old Isaiah Lee—who got onto the stage and tackled the comedian during the streaming service’s “Netflix Is A Joke”-branded event.
The Netflix statement is fairly short, and to the point: “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.”
The statement from the Chappelle camp, meanwhile, puts an emphasis on attempting (probably quixotically, if we’re being honest) to not let this one element of the evening overshadow everything else about it. Here’s the full statement which is, by volume, about 20 percent “yes that happened,” and 80 percent “But hey, our show!”
Dave Chappelle celebrated four nights of comedy and music, setting record-breaking sales for a comedian at the Hollywood Bowl. 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.
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.
Reports from Los Angeles police have stated that Lee was carrying a weapon, described as a replica gun that actually functioned as a knife. Chappelle is reportedly unharmed after the incident.
Neither Netflix, nor the comedian’s team, addressed in their statements online criticism of the joke Chappelle made in the immediate aftermath of the attack about the attacker being “a trans man,” a reference to the anger produced in LGBTQA+ communities by transphobic material in the comedian’s recent specials.