Kevin Hart says Dave Chappelle's Hollywood Bowl incident 'needed' to happen: The suspect 'got their ass whooped'

• Kevin Hart said the person who attacked Dave Chappelle "got their ass whooped."
• "It's one of those things that needed to happen," he said on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"

Comedian Kevin Hart said that the person who attacked Dave Chappelle at California's Hollywood Bowl earlier this week"got their ass whooped," sending a warning to people who think about attacking an entertainer.

"Somebody ran on stage and got their ass whooped," Hart said during a recent appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on Thursday, adding that the moment wasn't scary. "It's one of those things that needed to happen though."

"Do you want people to continue to think that they can cross that line and break the barrier of entertainer and [audience]?" the comedian told guest host Mike Birbiglia. "Somebody getting their ass whipped sends a message out to other people that was like, 'I was thinking about doing that, but after seeing that, I don't really want to do that.'"

—Jimmy Kimmel Live (@JimmyKimmelLive) May 6, 2022

On Tuesday, Chappelle was performing at the Hollywood Bowl part of the "Netflix is a Joke" comedy festival when a man ran on stage and tackled him. A video of the incident showed when the attacker charged into Chappelle.

The suspect was hospitalized for his injuries following a rumble with the comedian's security, NBC Los Angeles reported. A video appears to show the suspect's arm twisted in an awkward position as they were wheeled on a stretcher into an ambulance.

"I think that the world that we're in right now, there's a lot of lines that have gotten blurred, and sometimes you got to take a couple of steps backward to take some steps forward," Hart said.

The "Jumanji" star added, "I think it's time to get back to a place of respect for your live entertainer and understand that you're coming to a show."

The police identified the man accused of striking Chappelle as 23-year-old Isaiah Lee, who was allegedly armed with a knife attached to a fake gun. Lee is facing four misdemeanor charges and pleaded not guilty Friday morning, per CBS News. A rep for Chappelle told Insider in a statement that he "refuses" to let the attack "overshadow the magic" of his historic set.

"As unfortunate and unsettling as the incident was, Chappelle went on with the show," the statement said.

During his sit down with Birbiglia, Hart recalled the time he was once hit with a buffalo wing by a heckler while performing on stage.

"I've talked about that for a long time," he said. "In the club someone threw a buffalo wing at me."