He ‘Refuses’ to Let Tackle Overshadow Show


Dave Chappelle
Charles Sykes/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

Dave Chappelle isn’t letting a tackle take him down, emotionally speaking. He spoke through his rep about how he is moving past the horrible incident in which a man attacked him while he was performing at a recent show.

“The performances by Chappelle at the Hollywood Bowl were epic record-breaking and he refuses to allow [the] incident to overshadow the magic of this historic moment,” his rep tells Us Weekly in a statement about the Tuesday, May 3, attack at the “Netflix Is a Joke” festival. The actor’s spokesperson further adds that the Chapelle’s Show alum, 48, adhered to the adage, “The show must go on.”

“As unfortunate and unsettling as the incident was, Chappelle went on with the show,” his rep continues, praising Jamie Foxx and Chris Rock for “help[ing] calm the crowd with humor before Chappelle introduced the last and featured musical guests for the evening.” (Rock, 57, even joked about the 2022 Oscars Incident, in which he was slapped on stage by Will Smith.)

It was a historic night for Chappelle, who set “record-breaking sales for a comedian at the Hollywood Bowl,” per his rep, adding that the performer is now tied “for the most headlined shows by any comedian” at the famed Los Angeles venue.

UsOfficials confirmed Wednesday that they had identified the man. Isaiah Leea 23-year old audience member. Multiple reports indicate that he was arrested and later charged him with assault with a deadly weapons. Authorities confirmed that he is currently being held on $30,000 bail. UsTuesday

For his part, Chappelle “is fully cooperating with the active police investigation,” his rep tells Us.

The A Star Is BornRecently, the actor himself was under fire for comments he made regarding the trans community in his 2021 Netflix special. His jokes in The CloserMany believed the videos were transphobic. In retaliation, some employees of the streaming site staged a walkout.

Chappelle addressed the outrage at a screening of another project in October 2021. “If this is what being canceled is like, I love it,” he said in response to the standing ovation he received at the premiere, which was also held at the Hollywood Bowl.

While the co-CEO at Netflix, Ted Sarandos, initially shared his support for the controversial comedian following the backlash, he later explained that he “screwed up,” though his stance on Chappelle’s take on comedy “hasn’t changed.”

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