TV host looked shocked after Kevin Hart said Dave Chappelle incident 'had to happen'

Kevin Hart appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Thursday - and his comments about this week’s onstage attack on fellow comic Dave Chappelle raised eyebrows.

On Tuesday, Chappelle was attacked by an audience member during a stand-up set for the Netflix is a Joke festival at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.

In the middle of his performance, an audience member armed with a weapon rushed the stage and tried to attack Chappelle.

Footage from the incident shows the man attempting to tackle Chappelle before being chased, captured, and restrained by security.

Hart said the incident was “not scary”, but it was his follow-up comment that really startled stand-in host Mike Birbiglia.

He said: “Somebody ran on stage and got their ass kicked,” Hart said, referring to the assailant being chased down and grabbed by security.

Kevin Hart on Dave Chappelle Getting Attacked on Stage, Joke Writing Process & Mother’s Daywww.youtube.com

“It’s one of those things that needed to happen, though,” Hart declared.

Birbiglia looked stunned and asked for clarification on the 'needed to happen' line, to which Hart replied: “Mike, do you want people to continue to think that they can cross that line?

“Somebody getting their ass whipped sends a message out to the other people like, you know, ‘I was thinking about doing that, but after seeing that I don’t really wanna do that.’”

The host visibly relaxed and said: “We're saying the same thing.”

Hart added: “A lot of lines have gotten blurred. Sometimes you have to take some steps backwards to take some steps forward. Dave went back after that and finished doing the show - that's what a professional does. Ultimately those moment of unprofessionalism shouldn't break professionals. It's time to get back to a place of respect for your live entertainer.”

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.