Howie Mandel says he’s “afraid” to go onstage following the attack on comedian Dave Chappelle.
“Every comedian — that hit, no pun intended — that hit very deeply,” the “America’s Got Talent” judge told “Extra’s” Billy Bush in a Wednesday interview.
Mandel’s comments came a day after an audience member — authorities said armed with a replica gun equipped with a knife blade — tackled Chappelle as the standup comic performed at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. The 48-year-old comedian was reportedly not injured.
The incident occurred weeks after “King Richard” star Will Smith made headlines at the Oscars in March, when he took to the stage and slapped Chris Rock while objecting to a joke the comedian made about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
“My biggest fear 40 years ago was not getting a laugh, was somebody not liking what I said, was maybe somebody being offended and confronting me outside going, ‘You know that joke was really offensive,’” Mandel, 66, said.
“Then cancel culture came along, and it was like, oh my God, if somebody doesn’t like your joke or you overstepped the line, you could lose your career,” he continued.
“And then, after the Academy Awards, I said violence triggers violence,” Mandel said of Smith striking Rock. “And this is one step that kind of opens the door and triggers somebody, that if they don’t like what you’re saying or are offended by what you’re saying… now it’s kind of OK because it’s been done to be violent.”
“And that’s what my fear was.”
Watching social media videos of what happened to Chappelle, Mandel said, “confirmed” his fear.
“I turned to my wife and I said, ‘I don’t want to go on stage. I’m afraid.’”
Noting that he’s a “guy who lives with worry anyway” and has been open about his mental health challenges with obsessive compulsive disorder and depression, Mandel said he didn’t sleep for two nights following the Oscars.
Comedians, he said, are “just trying to make people smile.”
“We’re trying to make people laugh. This is the opposite of violence.”
The issue, Mandel said, is about mental health and “people not getting the help they need.”
“Anybody who is jumping onstage hitting somebody, anybody who is pulling a gun out in public, anyone who is violent in public,” Mandel said, “I promise you there are red flags before that moment and those red flags are not being taken care of.”