Howie Mandel Terrified To Perform After Dave Chappelle Attack

The Will Smith incident has undoubtedly sparked a lot of debate and raised concerns among comedians. Recently, Dave Chapelle was attacked on stage, increasing the fear among comics. Howie Mandel has now revealed that he is terrified following what happened to Dave.

Howie Mandel and other comedians are outraged after Dave Chappelle was attacked on stage after a performance. An audience member attacked Chappelle just after the comic finished his set during “Netflix is a Joke: The Festival” at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on Tuesday night.

According to the Los Angeles Police Department, the man who tackled Chappelle had a knife blade and was arrested for felony assault with a deadly weapon and taken to a hospital for medical treatment.

Mandel expressed concern to “Extra’s” Billy Bush on Wednesday. He is now afraid to take the stage.

“Watching what happened to Dave last night confirmed my fear. 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.'”

Other comedians present at the time, including Chris Rock, jumped to Chappelle’s aid following the incident. “We can all thank Will Smith for setting the example that led to Dave Chappelle getting assaulted on stage last night.” comedian and Washington Times columnist Tim Young tweeted. “Here we go again. As I mentioned before, Will Smith did it, so now people think that if a big celebrity did it they can now do it,” comedian Jordan Garnett told WPTV.

Mandel made the same connection. He stated that as a result, he intends to tour less.

“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.”

“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,'”

To be fair, Howie has been known for his OCD and paranoia for years. It really comes as no surprise that he’s afraid of anything, but he has little to worry about considering how inoffensive his material is.

While the investigation into the Chappelle attack continues, Netflix has raised worry about the safety of comedy events. “We care deeply about the safety of creators and we strongly defend the right of stand-up comedians to perform on stage without fear of violence,” a Netflix spokesperson told CNN in a statement.

Let’s wait and see what happens. To get the latest updates, keep an eye on Thirsty.

What’s your opinion on this one? Let us know in the comments!