Dave Chappelle tackled onstage during Hollywood Bowl performance
In video footage, an unknown man appears to charge at Chappelle near the end of his Netflix Is A Joke Festival set
Update 10:30 AM: The LAPD has arrested the man who allegedly tackled Chappelle during his Netflix Is A Joke set, Deadline reports. 23-year-old Isaiah Lee was apprehended for assault with a deadly weapon. He is being held on $30,000 bail, LAPD Public Information Officer Mendez told the outlet.
Dave Chappelle was tackled by a man who rushed the stage during his performance at the Hollywood Bowl late Tuesday evening. Attendees of the event, which was a part of the Netflix Is A Joke Festival, shared video footage of the incident on social media.
In various clips that are making the rounds, after the unknown man appears to charge at and ultimately take Chappelle down to the ground, he is pulled away by security.
According to NBC Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed the attack, and said that the assailant was carrying a weapon that could “eject a knife.” However, at this time, it’s still unknown if he actually tried to use the weapon.
The LAPD also confirmed that the assailant was a member of the audience, and was taken to the hospital for “superficial injuries”—injuries presumably sustained when he was detained by security. In one video uploaded to Twitter, a man is seen on a gurney with his arm and elbow severely bent. And in another video, the same man is loaded onto an ambulance.
Daily Beast reports that it wasn’t just security who worked to apprehend him, it was also actor/comedian Jamie Foxx. After the scuffle, Foxx was brought back onstage where he called Chappelle a “genius” who needed to be “protected at all times.”
Buzzfeed reporter Brianna Sacks, who attended the event, also says that before he was tackled, Chappelle discussed how he beefed up his security in the wake of the Oscars slap. Chris Rock was also at the Hollywood Bowl that night, and he reportedly joked that Chappelle’s alleged attacker was Will Smith, referring to the now-infamous awards show moment.
Daily Beast says immediately after the attack, Chappelle made a joke of his own, reportedly saying the assailant was a “trans man”—seemingly referring to the controversy he courted earlier this year with the transphobic jokes he made in his Netflix special The Closer.
After the special aired and subsequently received widespread backlash and ire, Netflix chief Ted Sarandos threw his support behind Chappelle and the special—a move that lead Netflix employees to stage a walkout in protest.
The LAPD says Chappelle did not sustain any injuries from the Hollywood Bowl assault.