Ironic detachment is a blessed firewall in polarized times.Ĭomedians keep pushing the envelope as society writes disingenuous apology notes. But that’s what they were saying: a joke was now grounds for physical retribution.īut comedians have never mattered more, precisely because they are uniquely equipped to smother cultural insanity at a time when nobody can agree on anything. Rock at the Oscars, I was genuinely horrified by emails from those who defended Smith and deemed his violent assault perfectly justified. When I condemned Will Smith for slapping Mr. Unfortunately, too many among us can no longer take a joke. The late author Max Eastman once observed, “It’s the ability to take a joke, not make one, that proves you have a sense of humour.” He was right. And it hints at the blurred lines between online grievance and fantasy, and the hasty manifestation of real-life folly. But one of the greatest comics ever could have been murdered onstage. Again, I’m not sure what he was planning or thinking. This guy allegedly pulled his gun-knife before lunging at Chappelle. If I were Chappelle, I’d feel much more comfortable onstage knowing someone might be recording a controversial trans joke as opposed to reaching for a snub-nosed revolver. I’m also wondering why Chappelle’s team dutifully locks up phones but somehow misses weapons passing through metal detectors. Still, at a time when there is a war on comedy - a war on ideas - it’s unsettling to realize someone was able to sneak into a major festival with a weapon described by TMZ as a “replica of a semi-automatic” that “also weirdly had a knife attached to the gun.”
My guess, based on the scant footage available, includes alcohol and/or mental health issues. The authorities have not yet disclosed the suspect’s motive. But the larger question that remains on Wednesday is this: how do we protect our court jesters who are increasingly under siege for having the temerity to say stuff others are too timid to broach? And Chappelle continued his set like a champ. Moments after the attack, Chris Rock joined Chappelle onstage, grabbed the mic and asked: “Was that Will Smith?” It’s not clear who inflicted this broken-bone vengeance, though even celebrities Jamie Foxx and Busta Rhymes got in their licks. In one gnarly photo, Lee is strapped to a stretcher, post-arrest, his eyes puffy, one arm looking like it was on backwards as his elbow points toward Pluto. The assailant, identified as 23-year-old Isaiah Lee, runs around a giant video screen. In one clip of the incident, published by TMZ, the attacker suddenly scales the stage and bolts toward Chappelle, knocking him down before security beelines toward the madness. If you’re an ER doctor, there is minimal risk of getting cancelled over a saucy bedside joke.īut in this age of outrage, to be a comic is to be a mob target. If you’re an accountant at H&R Block, you don’t have to worry about getting heckled as you crunch writeoffs. Standup comedy was already one of the hardest jobs on the planet. I scribble these silly columns in my basement and it’s unfathomable to imagine being about 400 words in and catching an assailant in my peripheral vision smashing through the tiny window with a crossbow. It’s nuts to consider such occupational hazards in any other occupation.
On Tuesday night, while performing at the Hollywood Bowl as part of the “Netflix Is a Joke” festival, the comedian was tackled by a lunatic in the audience who bum-rushed the stage with a weapon.
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