Attacker tackles Dave Chappelle on stage during Netflix comedy festival

May 04, 2022

Jimmie Johnson Reporter

By Jimmie Johnson (Reporter), Ben Burke (Producer)

A man tackled comedian Dave Chappelle as he was performing on stage at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. The man, Isaiah Lee, was arrested and booked into jail early Wednesday morning for assault with a deadly weapon.

“The suspect produced what was later discovered to be a replica handgun and pointed the item at the victim,” the Los Angeles Police Department said in a news release. “Hollywood Bowl uniformed security officers, who witnessed the incident, engaged the suspect and removed him from the victim and took him into custody.”

According to the department, Lee was “transported to a local hospital to treat injuries sustained during the altercation with security.” Social media video from after the incident reveals that the injuries include some kind of break or dislocation in Lee’s arm.

Chappelle was not seriously injured from being tackled on stage and continued his set after the incident. He was performing at the 11-day “Netflix is a joke” comedy festival sponsored by the streaming platform.

“We care deeply about the safety of creators and we strongly defend the right of stand-up comedians to perform on stage without fear of violence,” Netflix said in a statement responding to the incident.

Chappelle has been a source of controversy within the company. His Netflix standup special “The Closer” led to an employee walkout, with LGBTQ advocates calling comments he made in the special transphobic. The controversy ignited once again Tuesday night, with Chappelle joking after the incident that his attacker “was a trans man.”

The attack also came less than a month after actor Will Smith was banned from the Oscars for 10 years for slapping actor/comedian Chris Rock in the face on the Oscars stage.

Rock, who was backstage at Chappelle’s set, came on stage after the attack to ask, “Was that Will Smith?”

“What is really surreal about this is that Chappelle talked about Chris Rock and the slap/new reality facing comedians/having more security with him and his wife being worried about him now,” BuzzFeed News reporter Brianna Sacks, who was at the show, tweeted afterwards. “He did a whole bit about a crazy man coming to his house and chasing him down in his car.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Jimmie Johnson: COMEDIAN DAVE CHAPPELLE APPEARS TO BE O-K AFTER AN ARMED MAN TACKLED HIM DURING A SHOW TUESDAY NIGHT.
CHAPPELLE WAS PERFORMING AT THE “NETFLIX IS A JOKE” FESTIVAL AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL.
THE ALLEGED ATTACKER WAS ARRESTED AND BOOKED FOR ASSAULT WITH A DEADLY WEAPON.
CHAPPELLE JOKED ABOUT THE INCIDENT ON STAGE
AND CONTINUED WITH HIS SET.

Dave Chappelle | Comedian: “Thank God that *bleep* was clumsy. He’s back there getting stomped.”
Jimmie Johnson: HOWEVER, ANOTHER COMMENT HE MADE AFTER THE ATTACK
IS ALREADY DRAWING BACKLASH.
Dave Chappelle: “It was, it was a trans man.”
Jimmie Johnson: THE COMMENT COMES AFTER CHAPPELLE MADE TRANSPHOBIC COMMENTS EARLIER THIS YEAR DURING A STANDUP NETFLIX SPECIAL.
CRITICS LATER CALLED FOR NETFLIX TO TAKE THE SPECIAL DOWN.
THE ATTACK ALSO COMES ON THE HEELS OF WILL SMITH’S 10-YEAR BAN FROM THE ACADEMY — FOR SLAPPING CHRIS ROCK AT THE OSCARS.
CHAPPELLE HAD JUST TALKED ABOUT HOW COMEDIANS HAVE TO WORRY MORE ABOUT SECURITY.
Chris Rock: “Was that Will Smith?”