A Santa Fe man threw a banana peel at Dave during a show at the Lensic Performing Arts Center, hitting the comedian on the leg.
- Apr 1, 2015
AceShowbiz - Dave Chappelle pressed charges against Christian Englander of Santa Fe who threw a banana peel at his leg during a Monday night, March 30 show in Lensic Performing Arts Center, Mexico. The man was charged with battery and disorderly conduct, and was imprisoned in Santa Fe County Detention Center.
Andrea Dobyns, a Santa Fe police spokewoman, said that the incident began when Dave noticed someone sketching on a paper during his show in northern New Mexico city. He liked the drawing and asked for the sketcher's name.
The sketcher said that his name was "Johnny Appleseed," which gave Dave an idea to make the name as a joke in the show. The 30-year-old Christian, who's also a friend of the artist, got mad as he perceived the comedian's jokes as racist and threw the banana peel at Dave in response.
After the incident, Christian who seemed to be drunken was escorted out of the venue by security. Santa Fe police also reported that he drank 99 Bananas liquor and ate banana before the show.
Following the incident, Dave decided to report him to authority because Christian did not appear to be regretful. He also believed the suspect's use of a banana was "racially-motivated." After the man was brought out, Dave told the audience, "I can't believe not only that someone threw a banana on stage, I can't believe that they had a banana on them the entire time."
Now, Christian remained in jail. Andrea said she didn't know whether or not he had an attorney to speak in his defense.
