Kevin Hart stands behind Dave Chappelle’s alleged move to lay hands on his attacker after he was charged during a performance at the Hollywood Bowl.
Hart shared his thoughts on the incident during an interview on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
“Somebody ran onstage and got their ass whooped,” Hart told guest host Mike Birbiglia. “It’s one of those things that needed to happen.”
Toward the end of Chappelle’s show on Tuesday (May 3), an armed man ran on stage and attempted to tackle the comedian. Isiah Lee was the culprit and also pointed a weapon at the comedian: The Los Angeles Police Department later confirmed that 23-year-old Isiah Lee also pointed a weapon at the comedian.
“This alleged attack has got to have consequences, and this afternoon, my office has filed charges alleging battery, possession of a weapon with intent to assault and charges relating to interfering with a performance,” said Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer in an official statement. “My office takes protecting public safety extremely seriously and we are going to vigorously prosecute this case.”
Following the attack, Chappelle informed the crowd that he took a moment to go backstage and “stomp” Lee. Rumors that he was assisted by fellow entertainers Jamie Foxx and Busta Rhymes were later dispelled by the comedian’s spokesperson Carla Sims. She further insisted that her client was joking when he mentioned that his friends had been involved.
Chappelle’s fellow comedian and peer believes that following up on the attacker was the right move to encourage others not to do the same.
“Do you want people to continue to think that they can cross that line and break the barrier of entertainer and [audience]?” Hart continued. “Somebody getting their ass whooped sends a message out to other people that was like, ‘I was thinking about doing that, but seeing that, I don’t really want to do that.'”