Isaiah Lee, the man charged with attacking Dave Chappelle, said he did so because the show was “triggering.”
Lee was arrested earlier this month for tackling Chapelle during a performance at the Hollywood Bowl. He was charged for assault with a deadly weapon.
He was carrying a replica handgun with a large blade that folded out of it similar to a pocket knife. Chappelle was not hurt, and finished the show that was part of the “Netflix Is a Joke” comedy festival.
“I identify as bisexual … and I wanted him to know what he said was triggering,” Isaiah Lee told the New York Post in an exclusive from the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles.
Lee said the comments about the LGBTQ community and homelessness also were “triggering,” but he said he didn’t want to hurt Chappelle.
“I wanted him to know that next time, he should consider first running his material by people it could affect,” he said.
The “Dave Chappelle and Friends” show took a turn when Chappelle made jokes about transgender people and homelessness.
Lee said it wasn’t Chappelle who set him off. Instead, it was another comedian in the show made a joke about pedophilia and that, having been molested, was triggered.
Lee jumped onstage and attacked Chappelle just as he was about to leave.
Lee, who suffered a broken arm as people tackled him, said, “They spat on me and twisted me as if on purpose.”
Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim.
Ad Choices