Paddy McGuinness says Dave Chappelle’s gunman attack was ‘direct result’ of Will Smith slap

Comedian Paddy McGuinness has suggested that the attack on Dave Chappelle had been a ‘direct result’ of Will Smith’s Oscars incident
36th Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony - Inside
Getty Images for The Rock and Ro
Tamara Davison5 May 2022

Paddy McGuinness thinks Dave Chappelle’s on-stage attack with a replica gun was a “direct result” of Will Smith’s slap at the Oscars.

The 48-year-old television star and comedian took to social media to express his thoughts about the attack, that saw Chappelle confronted on stage by a man with a replica gun during a performance at the Hollywood Bowl.

McGuinness suggested on Twitter that the unprovoked attack was inspired by Smith after he slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars in March.

“The wrong un who attacked Dave Chappelle on stage is, for me, a direct result of Will Smith assaulting Chris Rock at the Oscars,” McGuinness wrote.

Paddy McGuinness believes the attack was a “direct result” of Will Smith slapping Chris Rock
Clint Hughes/PA Wire/PA Images

He added: “Only thing I’m surprised about is it’s taken a div that long to copy it?”

It appeared that a number of McGuinness’ followers agreed with the comedian as they shared their thoughts in the comment section.

Chappelle’s attacker tackled the comedian on stage earlier this week and produced a replica gun before being apprehended by security and taken into police custody.

Chappelle was tackled on stage by the attacker
Twitter

The comedian was unharmed by the incident and was able to continue with the show after Jamie Foxx and Chris Rock helped to calm the crowd.

23-year-old Isaiah Lee has since been charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon.

Chappelle’s representative has since addressed the incident, calling it “unfortunate and unsettling”.

His representative Carla Sims said: “The performances by Chappelle at the Hollywood Bowl were epic and record-breaking and he refuses to allow last night’s incident to overshadow the magic of this historic moment.”

TOPSHOT-US-ENTERTAINMENT-FILM-OSCARS-SHOW
Will Smith was banned from the Academy Awards after slapping Chris Rock
AFP via Getty Images

The incident, which took place on live TV, was watched by millions across the world. Following the slap, Smith was banned from attending The Oscars for 10 years. The fallout of the incident has also led to Smith being dropped from upcoming productions with Netflix and Sony.

A representative of Will Smith has been contacted for comment.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in