Dave Chappelle
(Picture: Owen Sweeney/Invision/AP)A man accused of attacking Dave Chappelle on stage has said he found the comedian’s jokes about the LGBT community “triggering”.
Chappelle, 48, was performing at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles when he was tackled by Isaiah Lee mid-performance on Wednesday, May 4.
Lee, 23, was arrested and charged for assault with a deadly weapon following the attack.
“I identify as bisexual … and I wanted him to know what he said was triggering,” Lee told The New York Post during an interview at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility.
“I wanted him to know that next time, he should consider first running his material by people it could affect.”
The attack happened as Chappelle was closing the show and thanking the comedians who had performed before him, including Chris Rock, Leslie Jones and Jon Stewart.
Chappelle has previously faced a backlash over comments about trans people.
After the incident, police revealed Lee was armed with a replica gun “that can eject a knife blade” when discharged correctly.
While Lee admitted to carrying the weapon into the event, he claimed that he didn’t have the weapon out when he charged the stage and said he had no intent to harm Chappelle.
Lee was filmed being carried out of the event on a stretcher with a visibly injured arm. “They spat on me and twisted me as if on purpose,” Lee, who reportedly suffered a broken arm and two black eyes, said.
After the alleged attack, Lee said Chappelle asked him backstage at the Hollywood Bowl why he did it.
“I told him my mother and grandmother, who fought for his civil rights to be able to speak, would be upset at the things he said,” Lee recalled.
But Chappelle allegedly replied: “Now your story will die with you, son.”
