As Will Smith cools out to India, after marching onstage during the Academy Awards to slapping the piss out of presenter Chris Rock over a G.I Jane joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, comedians across the world are ready for embolden fans who may be ready to mimic Smiths behavior.
On Tuesday night, during Dave Chappelle’s stand-up comedy performance at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl, a man rushed onstage and tackled the comedic legend mid-performance before being subdued—and stomped down—by a number of security guards and Chappelle’s entourage, which included the actor Jamie Foxx.
Then Chappelle, continued on with the show, reportedly joking that the assailant “was a trans man”—a nod to his 2021 Netflix stand-up special The Closer, which received widespread condemnation among the LGBTQ+ community and their allies over its transphobic material.
On Fox and Friends to talk about Dave Chapelle being attacked on stage last night.
— Dave Rubin (@RubinReport) May 4, 2022
4 min…pic.twitter.com/GnLMvlE3FT
Chappelle, 48, was performing a set as part of Netflix’s inaugural comedy festival, Netflix Is A Joke Fest. Earlier in the set, he discussed how he had to increase his security personnel in the wake of the Netflix controversy. The attacker, who appeared severely injured, was then captured on video being loaded on a gurney and taken to the hospital.
Definitely don’t tackle #DaveChappelle while he’s performing on stage 😬 pic.twitter.com/X0Lbi8ghsf
— BAWP (@bawp_) May 4, 2022
“Los Angeles police confirmed to Eyewitness News that they responded to an incident at the Hollywood Bowl around 10:45 p.m. and a man who was reportedly armed with a gun and a knife was taken into custody,” reported Los Angeles’s KABC News.
After the melee, Chappelle brought opener Chris Rock out onstage, who joked “was that Will Smith?” Chappelle also brought out Foxx for a standing ovation, and then announced: “I’ve been doing this for 35 years. I just stomped a n—– backstage. I’ve always wanted to do that.”
Last fall, Netflix employees staged a walkout in protest of Chappelle’s The Closer, which contained a number of transphobic jokes. A number of Netflix employees also resigned over the special, including senior software engineer Terra Field and editorial and publishing manager Oliver Whitney, both of whom are trans.”
Ever since the Smith Chris Rock fiasco, a number of comedians weighed in on what they wold do if attacked onstage. Rock’s brother Tony slammed Will Smith and warned, “If you think you gonna to walk up on this stage, this ain’t the motherf***king Oscars! And if you walk your ass up here, you ain’t nominated for s*** but these mother****ing hands! Oh, we going Pac the rest of the year, n****. Every time you see me do a show, Pac!” Referencing late rapper Tupac, who, Jada Pinkett Smith has said is the love of her life and that caused Will Smith to be jealous.
