Comedian Dave Chappelle had a scary experience last night. Luckily, the comedian wasn’t seriously hurt. Someone rushed on stage as he was performing his stand-up routine at the Hollywood Bowl last night. Security guards quickly dispatched the attacker. Chappelle was left unscathed. The attacker, Isiah Lee, 23, reportedly has superficial injuries before being detained. He’s been charged with assault with a deadly weapon. Never changing his tune, Chappelle joked about the incident saying that he was assaulted by a trans man during his set (via NBC News):
Just came out of the Hollywood Bowl where a man charged and tackled Dave Chapelle on stage and got his ass kicked by at least 10 people.
— Brianna Sacks (@bri_sacks) May 4, 2022
LAPD and LAFD are now loading him into an ambulance pic.twitter.com/7SXPe9e8az
Dave Chappelle was attacked onstage on Tuesday night after a man ran up and tackled the stand-up comedian during a performance at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
In video posted to social media, a man can be seen running onto the stage before leveling Chappelle as security officers race to intervene.
The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed the incident, telling NBC Los Angeles that man had been armed with a replica gun that could eject a knife blade when discharged correctly. It was unclear if he made an attempt to use the weapon.
The suspect, identified as Isaiah Lee, 23, has been charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon, an LAPD spokesperson said Wednesday. Lee's bail is set at $30,000.
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Brianna Sacks, a BuzzFeed News reporter who attended the show and witnessed the altercation, told NBC News she was left stunned after the suspect “charged and tackled Chappelle.”
She said both uniformed security workers and people in plainclothes appeared to rush to Chappelle’s aid and had started “kicking and punching” the suspect in an assault that went on for several minutes.
She said Chappelle later continued the show, joking about the altercation. "It was a trans man," he remarked, according to The Hollywood Reporter. (The gender identity of the attacker was not immediately known.)
We don’t know what motivated Lee to attack Chappelle. I’m sure we will know in due time. He could just be a crazed fan or a ‘woke’ clown who couldn’t stand the comedian’s humor which is not politically correct and brutally makes fun of woke culture.