Entertainment

‘I’m Just Really Afraid’: Howie Mandel Calls Dave Chappelle Attack ‘Beginning Of The End For Comedy’

   DailyWire.com
Howie Mandel
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Fellow comedians are weighing in on the alleged assault that took place at Dave Chappelle’s comedy show Tuesday night. A fan reportedly rushed onto the stage brandishing a blade concealed in a replica gun at the end of the comedian’s set, “Netflix is a Joke: The Festival” at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. 

The man was arrested for felony assault with a deadly weapon and taken to a hospital for medical treatment, CNN reported. Chappelle was not injured. 

Comedian Howie Mandel conveyed his feelings on the incident while speaking with “Extra’s” Billy Bush on Wednesday.

“Watching what happened to Dave last night confirmed my fear,” Mandel said. “I was watching it kind of live on Twitter and I turned to my wife and I said, ‘I don’t want to. I don’t want to go on stage. I’m just really afraid.'”

Some comedians attending the show rushed to Chappelle’s side after it happened. Chris Rock was one of them. Video surfaced later of Rock saying, “Was that Will Smith?” after the attack, referencing the now-infamous slap at the 2022 Academy Awards.

Rock wasn’t the only one talking about Smith’s slap following the incident. Comedian and Washington Times columnist Tim Young tweeted, “We can all thank Will Smith for setting the example that led to Dave Chappelle getting assaulted on stage last night.”

Mandel had similar sentiments to share while speaking to “Extra.”

“This is one step that kind of opens a door and triggers somebody if they don’t like what you’re saying or they’re offended by what you’re saying… It’s kind of okay because it’s been done, to be violent, and that’s what my fear was,” the “America’s Got Talent” host explained.

“My biggest fear 40 years ago was not getting a laugh, and then cancel culture came along and then it was like, ‘Oh, my God if somebody doesn’t like your joke or you overstepped your line, you could lose your career,’ and then after the Academy Awards… I said… ‘Violence triggers violence,'” Mandel concluded.

“You saw what happened at the Academy Awards, and I thought that just triggers—violence triggers violence,” the 66-year-old TV star told E! News, “I think this is the beginning of the end for comedy.”

When asked how he’d react to being attacked, Mandel said “I’m probably more of a Chris Rock, and a Usain Bolt because I would run,” he joked. “I wouldn’t stand there. I wouldn’t fight back, and I would just run.”

He also called himself a “wuss.”

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