ABOVE: Dave Chappelle is attacked May 3. Screenshot via Twitter.
Comedian Dave Chappelle was tackled May 3 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles during his set for the “Netflix Is A Joke” festival.
Security guards chased and overpowered the attacker, allowing Chappelle to continue his performance while the man was taken away in an ambulance. The comedian subsequently joked that the attacker “was a trans man.”
The commentary follows the comedian’s controversial Netflix special “The Closer.” It prompted walkouts and counter protests at the streaming company for Chappelle’s anti-transgender rhetoric.
The comedian was attacked by Isaiah Lee, 23, who was detained and arrested for assault with a deadly weapon, said Officer Alba Mendez, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson.
Lee was treated by medical staff for an unspecified injury and was booked into the Hollywood Division jail at 3:36 a.m. May 4 and held in lieu of $30,000 bail, Mendez said. It was not immediately known if he had retained a lawyer.
Mendez said a “famous comedian was performing” when Lee jumped onto the stage, tackled the celebrity and produced the replica handgun containing a knife blade. Mendez said the department did not name the celebrity because it does not confirm victim names.
Jamie Foxx was in the wings of the stage when the comedian was attacked and Chappelle thanked him for responding. Chris Rock was there as well, and jokingly asked if the attacker was Will Smith.
Chappelle was attacked as he was wrapping up a routine in which he talked about how comedians have to worry more about their personal security in the wake of this year’s Academy Awards ceremony where the Oscar-winning actor slapped Rock on live television in reaction to a joke about his wife.
“The comedian had literally just said he now has more security because of all the uproar from his jokes about the trans community,” tweeted Buzzfeed News reporter Brianna Sacks, who attended the show. She was among those that confirmed “while the attacker was getting beat up,” Chappelle “made a joke about him probably being a trans man.”
View video of Chapelle’s commentary below, via Twitter.
A man ran on stage and tackled Dave Chapelle at the Hollywood Bowl. He then proceeded to say “it was a trans man.” pic.twitter.com/iBJg4408HL
— Pop Base (@PopBase) May 4, 2022
