Comedian Dave Chappelle was attacked on stage during his set at the Hollywood Bowl as part of the Netflix Is a Joke Festival on Tuesday night. The incident occurred toward the end of his performance, with video captured by attendees and uploaded to social media showing a man in a black hoodie rushing the stage and tackling the comedian to the floor. The attacker attempted to flee but was dragged away by security.
The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed to ABC7 that officers responded to an incident at the Hollywood Bowl around 10:45 p.m. and booked a man into custody. According to NBC News Los Angeles, the LAPD explained the man was carrying a replica gun “that can eject a knife blade” when discharged correctly. The suspect was later identified as Isaiah Lee, 23, spokespeople from the LAPD confirmed to PEOPLE. Lee was charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon and is being held in Los Angeles City Jail on a $30,000 bond. Police said that Chappelle was not injured in the incident.
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It remains unclear what led to the attack. Buzzfeed reporter Brianna Sacks, who shared a video of a man believed to be the suspect being loaded into an ambulance, said that before the attack, Chapelle talked about needing more security following the controversy over what many have deemed his transphobic jokes in his Netflix specials. In footage immediately after the attack, Chapelle appeared to reference those jokes when he could be heard stating, “it was a trans man.”
Chappelle appeared to address the Tuesday night incident later in his show, telling the crowd, “Whenever you’re in trouble, Jamie Foxx will show up in a sheriff’s hat.” Foxx, who reportedly helped apprehend the suspect, responded, “I thought that was part of the show.” Chappelle later stated, “I’ve been doing this for 35 years. I just stomped a n- backstage. I’ve always wanted to do that.”
Stephanie Wash, a journalist for ABC, also attended the event, and tweeted that Chris Rock, who performed earlier in the evening, eventually came on stage and joked, “Was that Will Smith?” The joke was a reference to Smith’s recent controversy when Rock was hit across the face by Smith at the 2022 Oscars after he made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith. Following the incident, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences banned Smith from attending the Oscars for the next 10 years.
