No laughing matter.
Howie Mandel isn’t looking forward to doing stand-up comedy in the near future.
The 66-year-old admitted that he’s fearful for the comedic community following Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars in March and the recent attack on Dave Chappelle at the Netflix is a Joke festival on May 3.
“Not to comment on what happened at the Academy Awards, but I thought that that opened the flood gates,” the “Deal or No Deal” host told E! News’ Daily Pop Wednesday.
“We’re already as comedians being attacked as far as being canceled for something that you don’t like, something that you find offensive, something that you think is too soon,” he continued.
Mandel went on, “You saw what happened at the Academy Awards, and I thought that just triggers — violence triggers violence. And I think this is the beginning of the end for comedy.”
The Canadian comedian also admitted that if he was in Rock’s or Chapelle’s shoes, he joked: “I wouldn’t stand there. I wouldn’t fight back, and I would just run.”
Will Smith slapped presenter Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars on March 27.Getty ImagesThe “America’s Got Talent” judge also spoke with Extra‘s Billy Bush yesterday about the incident with Chapelle at the Hollywood Bowl earlier this week. The 48-year-old was ambushed on stage by 23-year-old Isaiah Lee, who was later booked with felony assault with a deadly weapon over the attack.
“That hit… no pun intended… that hit very deeply,” Mandel said, “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.'”
Bush also inquired the “Bullsh*t: The Game Show” host if he would plan for future comedy tours. Mandel replied, “The love of what we do is fading… joking now has no safety net.”
“You saw what happened at the Academy Awards, and I thought that just triggers — violence triggers violence. And I think this is the beginning of the end for comedy,” the game show host said.WireImage“I’m actually going to do less because the love is not as fervent as it was, you know… six months ago,” he continued. “Because fear overtakes… and I’m a guy who, you know, lives with worry anyway… I’ve been open about my mental health. I am neurotic. I suffer from depression.”
Radio shock jock Howard Stern ripped apart Hollywood for alluding that they’re treating Smith differently compared to Chappelle. On Wednesday’s episode of “The Howard Stern Show,” the 68-year-old called out the double standard.
“This guy jumped up on stage and attacked Dave Chappelle,” Stern said, according to Mediaite. “As soon as that happened, did they let him go back to his seat and laugh and sit next to his wife and then give them an award? No! They took him backstage, they broke his arms and hands so bad.”
The DJ added, “They f–king beat the s–t out of him.”
