The Los Angeles man accused of assaulting Dave Chapel said he was “triggered” by the comedian’s jokes about the LGBTQ community and homelessness – as he insisted he never wanted to harm the joker.
In an exclusive interview with the prison, Isaiah Lee told The Post that Chappelle needs to be more “sensitive” when it comes to the jokes he makes.
“I identify as bisexual, and I wanted him to know what worked,” Lee said Saturday at the Twin Towers in Los Angeles, wearing brown prison clothes and a sling with a broken right arm.
“I wanted him to know that next time he should consider releasing his material from people he might affect.”
Lee said he expects to have a good time on Netflix is a Joke on May 3 – but he is angry and frustrated as Chapel jokes about his previous differences with the LGBTQ community and homelessness.
“I’m also a single father and my son is five,” said Lee, 23, who was homeless at one point. “It’s a fight and I wanted Dave Chapel to know it’s not a joke.”
He said his moment of refraction came when another comedian on the show joked rudely about pedophilia – which Lee said dug up memories of his own violence as a teenager.
Isaiah Lee said he told Chappelle to be more sensitive to the groups he joked about. New York Post / David Buchan
The stunning Hollywood Bowl was filmed on camera – showing Lee rushing to Chappelle on stage, knocking him down and running away before the guards grabbed him.
“He was a trans man,” joked Chapel, who was unharmed in front of a crowd immediately after the attack.
Lee admitted to carrying a replica pistol with a retractable knife inside the night of the alleged attack – but said he did not have the weapon when he left the scene.
Lee – seen in a photo on Youtube for his song “Dave Chappell” – claims that he did not plan to harm the famous comedian.Youtube
The aspiring rapper, who is called “NoName_Trapper” and once released a comic book song that won an Emmy, said he always carries a weapon of protection because he is also a “minor celebrity”.
The young father, who was charged in the incident, now faces four counts of crime, including striking and possessing a deadly weapon with intent to attack.
“They spat on me and twisted me as if on purpose,” he said of the guards, who left him with a broken arm and two black eyes.
Lee said that as the father of a five-year-old boy and political activist, he would never intentionally hurt anyone, New York Post / David Buchanan
Lee told The Post that he was harassed at the age of 17 while in the care of the Children’s and Family Services Department in Los Angeles. He also said he was in the process of trying to secure a place to live before being caught in the failure of the Hollywood Bowl.
Asked about reports of mental health problems, Lee said they were “wrong” and “inaccurate”. However, his lawyer said he was receiving mental health services.
The viral incident also led to new criminal charges against Lee – he was charged Thursday with allegedly stabbing his roommate last year. The victim in this case identified Lee as his alleged attacker when the Chapelle incident went viral, prosecutors said.
“It was almost done,” Lee said of his Chappelle criminal case.
Lee faces four counts of guilt in connection with his attack on Chappelle, as well as counts of a crime stemming from an incident in which he stabbed his roommate. New York Post / David Buchan
“It simply came to our notice then [in jail] and that you have to do community service and live in a transitional home… until probably 15 or more years in prison, ”he added, shaking his head. “My son will be big by the time I get out.”
However, he said he did not regret what happened because he saw it as an opportunity to talk about homelessness, LGBTQ rights and sexual abuse of children, who often serve as food for comedians.
Chappelle sparked a boom last year with his special Netflix program, “The Closer,” in which he jokes about transgender women and defends conflicting comments by author JK Rowling and rapper DaBaby about gay and transgender communities.
Chappelle was criticized last year for making jokes about transgender women. Clint Brewer Photography / AIM /
In the special part, the candid comic breaks that he joins Rowling in “Team TERF” – the acronym for Trans-Exclusive Radical Feminist – while hitting critics of DaBaby.
“Many of the LGBTQ community do not know the history of DaBaby. He is a wild man. He shot and killed him once. At Walmart. Oh, that’s true. Search it in Google. Nothing bad has happened to his career … “, says Chapel.
Then he joked, “Do you see where I’m going with this? In our country, you can shoot and kill a person, but you better not hurt your gay feelings!
Lee said he did not regret going on stage with Chappelle because he saw it as an opportunity to speak.ellis kaplan
After the alleged attack, Lee said Chapel asked him behind the scenes at the Hollywood Bowl why he did it.
“I told him that my mother and grandmother, who were fighting for his civil rights to be able to speak, would be upset by the things he said,” Lee recalled.
But Chapel seemed to reply, “Now your story will die with you, son.
Lee told Chappelle that his mother and grandmother would be upset by the comedian’s jokes. New York Post / David Buchan David
“But he’s wrong,” Lee told a Post reporter. “I’m sitting here talking to you about this.”
A Chappelle spokesman did not return a request for comment.
A Netflix spokesman declined to comment and referred The Post to an earlier statement from the company: “We care deeply about the safety of the creators and strongly support the right of stand-up comedians to perform on stage without fear of violence.”
Additional reports by David Meyer
Add Comment