Rep: Dave Chappelle Will Not Let On-Stage Attack “Overshadow” Comedy Celebration

Dave Chappelle was thrust into headlines today after being attacked live on stage during the Netflix Is A Joke event at the Hollywood Bowl.

The shocking scenes have dominated the mediascape today and reignited the conversation about safety in the live sphere following the drama-drenched scenes at the Oscars.

With the attacker, 23-year-old Isaiah Lee, in police custody, a rep for Chappelle has issued a statement.

Spotlighting Chapelle’s resilience and commitment to keeping the focus on the talent that rocked the stage, the statement read:

“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.”

A further statement from Netflix read:

“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 incident comes after a wave of debate around Chapelle’s recent Netflix stand-up special ‘The Closer’ – in which he spoke in earnest (and controversially) about transgender people. It’s not immediately clear if the attack was in any way connected to his remarks.