The man accused of attacking Dave Chappelle on stage at the Netflix Is A Joke Festival on May 3 has revealed his reasons for rushing the stage.
The 48-year-old comedian's alleged attacker was identified as 23-year-old Isaiah Lee, who was later arrested by police and charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon.
Lee has since told The New York Post in an exclusive interview from jail that Chappelle should be more "sensitive" when it comes to the jokes he makes.
"I identify as bisexual and I wanted him to know what he said was triggering," Lee said at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles, wearing a sling on his injured right arm. "I wanted him to know that next time, he should consider first running his material by people it could affect."
The attacker said he arrived at the show as an audience member and expected to enjoy his time but he grew irate as Chappelle joked about his previous controversies with homelessness and the LGBTQ+ community.
"I’m also a single dad and my son is five," Lee disclosed, who at one point was homeless himself. "It’s a struggle and I wanted Dave Chappelle to know it’s not a joke."
He stated that the breaking point of the show was when another comedian in the show’s lineup made a crude joke about pedophilia - which he said reminded him of his sexual assault trauma as a minor.
The incident at the Hollywood Bowl was caught on camera and footage shows Lee charging at Chappelle on stage, tackling him over and running before security seized him.
Shortly after, Chappelle joked: "That was a trans man."
The 23-year-old was left with a broken arm and two black eyes by security personnel and he is now facing four misdemeanor counts, including battery and possessing a deadly weapon with intent to assault. Lee was reportedly carrying a replica handgun that contained a knife blade. However, he claimed that he didn’t have the weapon out when he charged the stage.
After the alleged attack, Chappelle met with him and asked why he did it. Lee recalled: "I told him my mother and grandmother, who fought for his civil rights to be able to speak, would be upset at the things he said."
But he claims that the comedian allegedly replied: "Now your story will die with you, son." But, the young father retorted that Chappelle "is wrong" because he has the opportunity to tell his story now.
Since the incident went viral, it has led to more criminal charges against Lee. On Thursday, he was charged with allegedly stabbing his roommate last year. Prosecutors said he was identified by the victim after the Chappelle incident went viral.
Lee responded: "But it went from me probably only doing six months [in jail] and having to do community service and living in a transitional home... to possibly 15 or more years in jail."
"My son will be big by the time I get out," he added.
Despite the charges against him, Lee said he doesn't regret attacking Chappelle because he saw it as an opportunity to speak out about topics comedians joke about like homelessness, child sex abuse, and LGBTQ rights.
