Comedian Dave Chappelle Attacked Onstage in Los Angeles

UPDATE 10:20 a.m.: KNBC reports that jail records have identified Chappelle’s assailant as 23-year-old Isaiah Lee. Lee has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon and is being held on a $30,000 bail.

Original story:

A man armed with a knife rushed Dave Chappelle onstage at the Hollywood Bowl Tuesday night, tackling the comedian to the floor.

Chappelle and the unidentified man tussled for a moment before the man fled behind a screen onstage, where he was tackled by security, according to KABC.

Buzzfeed News reporter Brianna Sacks tweeted a video of the man as he was loaded onto an ambulance after the incident, saying he “got his ass kicked by at least 10 people.”

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

Chappelle, who was not hurt, quickly recovered his composure and quipped, “It was a trans man,” a reference to the controversy he’s engendered over his comments about the transgender community, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Sacks said Chappelle continued with his show as the man was being beaten behind him.

Chappelle was performing at the 11-day Netflix Is A Joke festival with other comics, including Jon Stewart, Jamie Foxx, and Chris Rock, who stepped on stage moments after the attack and joked, “Was that Will Smith?”

For those who missed it, Smith walked on stage during the Oscars ceremony and slapped host Rock after he made a joke about wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald hair style, as CrimeOnline previously reported. Pinkett Smith has alopecia, an autoimmune condition that causes hair loss.

Los Angeles Police confirmed the attack early Wednesday morning and said the man was carrying a fake gun that ejected a knife blade “when you discharge it correctly.” It wasn’t clear if the man attempted to use the weapon.

LAPD has not announced any charges against the man or identified him.

For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.