Dave Chappelle Attacked On Stage During Los Angeles Show
Dave Chappelle #DaveChappelle
Comedian Dave Chappelle was attacked on stage during a show at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on Tuesday night.
Los Angeles police told local station KABC that they responded to an incident at the venue at around 10:45 p.m. A man who was reportedly armed with a gun and a knife was taken into custody.
“Dave Chappelle was just assaulted on stage at his Hollywood Bowl show. He was finishing up his performance when a man ran on-stage and lunged at him knocking him to the floor,” tweeted journalist Sharon Carpenter. “Security and his entourage then cornered the man as Dave joked about how him getting ‘stomped’ backstage.”
BuzzFeed News reporter Brianna Sacks said Los Angeles police and fire department personnel loaded the man into an ambulance outside the venue:
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.
LAPD and LAFD are now loading him into an ambulance pic.twitter.com/7SXPe9e8az
— Brianna Sacks (@bri_sacks) May 4, 2022
When we got out of the Bowl and got our phones out, LAPD and medics were cordoning off the area and then loaded Chapelle’s attacker, who looked to be strapped in a jacket in a chair, into an ambulance. Members of the crowd cussed him out pic.twitter.com/qioX8aH5Vq
— Brianna Sacks (@bri_sacks) May 4, 2022
In videos posted on social media, Chappelle can be heard joking that “It was a trans man.” In another clip, he joked that he’d “stomped” the man backstage.
Chappelle was performing at the “Netflix is a Joke” comedy festival, which runs until Sunday and features big names, including Seth Rogen, Pete Davidson, Snoop Dogg and Bill Burr.
Chappelle was the subject of controversy earlier this year after he included transphobic material in his Netflix special, “The Closer.” Despite enormous backlash from LGBTQ groups and some Netflix employees, the streaming service did not pull the program. Chappelle also stood by his remarks.
A representative for Chappelle did not immediately return a request for comment about Tuesday night’s attack.