More comedians are getting attacked on stage like Rock and Chappelle
slapped by Will Smith at the Oscars in March, and Dave Chappelle, who was tackled by a stranger at the Hollywood Bowl earlier this month — comedians across the country say violence from audience members is an increasing problem.Curtis Shaw Flagg, 37, president of The Laugh Factory in Chicago, told The Post he’s seen an alarming uptick in incidents over the past year, as people feel increasingly emboldened to lash out if a comic displeases them.“Not long ago, we had a patron stand up in the middle of a performance and say, ‘I will be outside waiting for you, I’m going to kill you,’” Flagg said. “After the show, we did a sweep of the outside and there was no sign of the guy, and the comic left unharmed. But nobody felt safer.”In recent weeks, the Laugh Factory chain — which has clubs in Hollywood, Las Vegas, Chicago, Reno and Long Beach — has added cameras and metal detectors to its venues, and in some locations, they’ve doubled their security personnel. “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” Flagg said.