Washington [US]: After comedian Dave Chappelle was attacked on stage during Netflix Is A Joke festival in Los Angeles, the streaming giant issued a statement strongly condemning the incident.
“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,” Netflix’s spokesperson said. The incident between Chappelle and the man occurred near the end of his evening appearance at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Variety reported.
Video footage circulated during Chappelle’s comedy set showing the man rushing onto the stage and tackling the performer to the ground.
After the incident, in the later stage of the footage, the same man is then seen to be dragged away by security personnel and members of Chapelle’s team.
A spokesperson for Chappelle’s production company also issued a statement in the aftermath of the attack.
“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,” the statement read.
Controversies and Chappelle go hand in hand. His 2021 Netflix special ‘The Closer’ led to company walkouts and protests last October as he apparently targeted the LGBTQ+ community.
