Dave Chappelle was attacked on stage last night as he was performing at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles during the “Netflix is a Joke” festival.
He was standing in the middle of the stage, doing his bit. He just mentioned he had more security because of anger directed at him over trans jokes when a man came running up onto the stage and leaped at him, tackling him to the ground.
VIDEO: Dave Chappelle attacked onstage at L.A.'s Hollywood Bowl
Details: https://t.co/4Et3YXcouz
— Drew Hernandez (@DrewHLive) May 4, 2022
Immediately, several men including security and actor Jamie Foxx came running to help Chappelle. The attacker got up and ran toward the back of the stage and it was there that the security caught up with him and seem to have beat the heck out of him in the process of subduing him.
Chris rock after Dave Chappelle get attacked on stage “is that will smith “😂 pic.twitter.com/hw4PWZWC6y
— abdulaziz (@abdulaziz0m) May 4, 2022
Chappelle joked that the attacker was trans. Chris Rock came up on stage and joked, “Was that Will Smith?” — a reference back to the infamous incident where Smith came on the stage when Rock was joking about his wife during the Oscars and slapped him in the face.
The attacker was not looking good at the end of it all, as he was getting loaded into an ambulance and got booed by Chappelle fans.
Definitely don’t tackle #DaveChappelle while he’s performing on stage 😬 pic.twitter.com/X0Lbi8ghsf
— AlexGB.sfm (@ab_a_w_p) May 4, 2022
It was initially reported that the man had a gun and a knife, but it appears that the gun was fake, although the knife was real.
Officer Lizeth Lomeli, a spokesperson for the LAPD, confirmed to The Post that the suspect’s name is Isaiah Lee, 23, of Los Angeles. He has been booked for felony assault with a deadly weapon after being discharged from the local hospital. He was carrying a replica handgun that had a blade inside.
Chappelle had Jamie Foxx back up on stage and thanked him for his help, “Whenever you’re in trouble, Jamie Foxx will show up in a sheriff’s hat.”
Dave Chappelle was a great sport. 👏🏻 Came back out after the incident with Jamie Foxx (who ran up to stage from his seat) pic.twitter.com/D8zfJsnyjx
— Jed Simon (@JEDSIMON) May 4, 2022
Foxx said, “This man is an absolute genius. We’ve got to make sure we protect him at all times, man.”
People are now talking about the “Will Smith effect” — that his action might have set something off. I don’t know about that, celebrities have often been the targets in the past. But what is true is that the left has been promoting hatred against Chappelle because of his jokes about trans people and others. We don’t know if that had anything to do with this event. But we do know that it’s just one more aspect of the movement to shut down speech. Chappelle makes fun of everyone, it’s what comedians do. It’s why they’re important and necessary — we need more of them, especially the kind who are willing to risk not rowing with the narrative.
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