Source: Kevin Mazur/VF16 / Getty
It’s official: Other than being uber-successful Black comedians, Chris Rock & Dave Chappelle have something more unique in common.
Both have been attacked while performing on stage. They’ve since made jokes about it while performing at a secret show at The Comedy Store in L.A. on Thursday night, attended by heavy hitters like Diddy, Kim Kardashian, and Yasiin Bey. It started the Thursday night before the show when a rumor began to circulate that the usual Crack ‘Em Up Thursdays lineup for up and comers would feature a secret, famous comedian which had ticket buyers eager to pay the hefty $160 entry fee.
Upon taking the stage, Chappelle got right into the story of getting tackled on stage, revealing that his son ran up to him immediately after the incident to tell him he loved him. But after that, the jokes started flying.
He revealed that after the attack, the sight of Jamie Foxx in a “sheriff’s hat” is oddly what calmed him down, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Then, he started joking about another comedian who got into a similar situation– Chris Rock, who was slapped by Will Smith at the Oscars for making a joke about Jada Pinkett’s low-cut hairstyle.
At least you got smacked by someone of repute!” Chappelle told Rock, who had joined him on stage. “I got smacked by a homeless guy with leaves in his hair.”
Rock kept the joke going, saying, “I got smacked by the softest n-gga that ever rapped.”
After the laughs, Chappelle then explained that he eventually convinced venue security to let him into the room his attacker– 23-year-old Isaiah Lee– was being held in to figure out the reasoning behind his actions. The comedian could immediately tell that Lee was mentally ill and said he attacked him to bring light to gentrification, forcing his grandmother out of her home in Brooklyn, NY.
Elsewhere in his set Chappelle spoke on other current events like Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s defamation trial and the possible overturning of Roe vs. Wade.
