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Comedian Dave Chappelle was finishing his standup act when an armed man hurled himself at the star knocking him to the floor and shocking the crowd. The incident occurred on May 3, 2022, at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California.
The comedic actor was not harmed by the assailant, according to the police. Authorities located a weapon at the scene. It was a handgun replica that had a blade. Police have identified 23-year-old Isiah Lee as the person who attacked Chappelle.
Surveillance footage showed security guards kicking and punching Lee. The suspect was later taken to the hospital and treated.
He has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon. His bail has bet set at $30,000, stated authorities.
Chappelle was at the Hollywood Bowl performing as part of an event called “Netflix is a Joke: The Festival.” There were more than 100 artists featured at venues across the city of Angle’s.
A fan captured the incident on their cellphone. In the video, Lee is seen rushing onto the stage and tackling Chappelle. The star fell back but was able to free himself quickly as security ran out to grab the attacker.
Lee was finally tackled by staff in the rear corner of the stage, according to ABC. Afterward, Chappelle seemed to run towards the altercation between the suspect and security saying the man was being “stomped.” He repeatedly asked for the attacker to be removed from the stage.
The suspect was later filmed on a gurney being loaded into an awaiting ambulance. He was transported to a local hospital for unspecified injuries.
It is unclear why Lee charged the stage and attacked Chappelle.
"Was that Will Smith?": Moments after Dave Chappelle was attacked onstage during a performance in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Chris Rock joined Chappelle at the mic for a joke of his own. Rock was slapped by Will Smith at the Oscars less than two months ago. https://t.co/8BO4IlvYf6 pic.twitter.com/WqdrnZCxbM
— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 4, 2022
Comedic actor Chris Rock performed earlier in the evening. After the incident, he walked on stage with Chappelle and jokingly said, “Was that Will Smith?”
Written by Sheena Robertson
Sources:
ABC-7: Dave Chappelle’s attacker at Hollywood Bowl was armed with replica handgun-knife, LAPD says: Photos; by John Gregory
The New York Times: Dave Chappelle Attacked While Performing at the Hollywood Bowl
NBC News: Dave Chappelle attacked onstage during performance at Hollywood Bowl; by Chantal Da Silva and Andrew Blankstein
Images by GabboT Courtesy of Wikimedia – Creative Commons License