Dave Chappelle is attacked on stage in LA
Attacker armed with a fake gun and real knife is hospitalized after tackling Dave Chappelle during Netflix gig: Comic revealed he’d beefed up security when woke brigade tried to cancel him over trans jokes
The comedian, 48, was performing at the Netflix is a Joke festival at the Hollywood Bowl in Los AngelesA fan stormed the stage and tackled him during his set as Jamie Foxx and security intervened to detain himSources said he was subjected to a barrage of punches and kicks and he was later seen with a broken arm LAPD said the man had a replica gun loaded with a real knife inside although it is not known if he tried to use it Chappelle was uninjured and continued with his set, joking the attacker was a ‘trans man’Chris Rock then performed and joked that the attacker was Will Smith following the Oscars ‘slapgate’ incident
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An attacker who stormed a stage and bundled Dave Chappelle to the ground in front of a shocked audience was armed with a knife stashed inside a replica gun.
The man ran up from the audience on to the Hollywood Bowl stage for the Netflix is a Joke event and tackled Chappelle, before getting to his feet and evading the panicked security as he fled offstage where he was detained and later hospitalized.
Police told NBC Los Angeles the man was carrying a weapon which can eject a knife blade ‘when you discharge it correctly’, although it is not yet known if he tried to use it during the attack.
It raises questions about security at the Netflix show, its first ever live comedy festival, which forced fans to put their phones away but failed to spot the weapon.
The attacker launched at Chappelle seconds after the comic had joked about beefing up his security after his controversial comments about trans people last year, with additional fears of an audience attack following the Will Smith slap at the Oscars.
Jamie Foxx, who was watching the show from the wings while wearing a sheriff’s hat, rushed to help detain the attacker, who was then reportedly subjected to punches and kicks from 10 members of Chappelle’s security once he was caught.
Chris Rock, who had performed earlier in yesterday’s event and was similarly subjected to a violent outburst at the Oscars in March, came back on stage after the attack and joked: ‘Was that Will Smith?’
Footage later shows the suspect being treated by paramedics for what appears to be a badly injured arm before he was taken to hospital in an ambulance. Police said he had only suffered ‘superficial injuries’.
Buzzfeed reporter Brianna Sacks who was on the scene, said: ‘The comedian had literally just said he now has more security because of all the uproar from his jokes about the trans community.
‘What is really surreal about this is that Chapelle talked about Chris Rock and the slap/new reality facing comedians/having more security with him and his wife being worried about him now. He did a whole bit about a crazy man coming to his house and chasing him down in his car.’
Chappelle appeared to be uninjured and continued with his set, joking: ‘It was a trans man.’
He also added as he picked up the microphone following the attack: ‘I am going to kill that n****.’
Footage later appears to show the suspect being treated by paramedics for a badly injured arm before he was taken to hospital in an ambulance
Dave Chappelle was last night attacked on stage while filming a Netflix special in Los Angeles
Security desperately chase the attacker on the stage after he interrupted Chappelle’s set and threw him to the ground, sparking panic
Video from the Netflix Is A Joke event shows a man charging on to the stage and tackling the comedian
Chris Rock, who performed later in the event last night and was similarly subjected to a violent outburst on stage at the Oscars in March, came on stage and joked: ‘Was that Will Smith?’, with Jimmy Carr standing behind
Reports suggested that the suspect was armed with a gun and a knife, ABC journalist Stephanie Wash said, although this has not yet been confirmed by police
Footage appears to show the suspect on a gurney being taken to hospital after he was detained
Chris Rock later came to the stage and joked that it was Will Smith who attacked Chappelle, while Jimmy Carr stood shocked in the background at the ‘crazy’ gig
Chappelle, who sparked outrage in the trans community with controversial comments in a Netflix show last year, appeared to be uninjured
The venue said on its website that the show, which last night was titled Dave Chappelle and Friends, would be a ‘phone-free experience’ and that the audience would have to secure their phones inside pouches.
After the attacker was detained, Chappelle thanked Foxx on stage during the curtain call.
He said: ‘Shout out to Jamie Foxx by the way. Whenever you’re in trouble, Jamie Foxx will show up in a sheriff’s hat.’
Foxx replied: ‘I thought that was part of the show, I didn’t know what the f***…’
Chappelle said: ‘I grabbed the back of that n**** head. His hair was spongy. Absorbent.’
Foxx added: ‘Listen, I just want to say, this man is an absolute genius. We’ve got to make sure we protect him at all times.
Chappelle, pictured at the opening night of the Netflix is a Joke festival last week, came under fire last year over jokes about trans people in his Netflix comedy show The Closer
The venue said on its website that the show, which last night was titled Dave Chappelle and Friends, would be a ‘phone-free experience’
In the aftermath, the confused audience left the arena as the attacker was taken to hospital to treat his injured arm
Footage from the event shows panicked security chasing the attacker round the stage after he ran up and attacked the comedian
‘For every comedian who comes out here, this means everything. You’re a genius. You’re a legend, I enjoyed myself thoroughly, and we’re not going to let nothing happen to you.’
Chappelle said: ‘I’ve been doing this for 35 years. I just stomped a n**** backstage. I’ve always wanted to do that.’
After the attack, Jimmy Carr shared a selfie taken with the fellow comedian and described his Los Angeles show as ‘crazy’.
He tweeted: ‘The Hollywood Bowl show with the legendary Dave Chappelle was crazy. Just happy everyone’s ok.’
Chappelle came under fire last year over jokes about trans people in his Netflix comedy show The Closer.
After the attack, Jimmy Carr shared a selfie taken with the fellow comedian and described his Los Angeles show as ‘crazy’
During the controversial special, he made one comment stating that ‘gender is a fact’, prompting Netflix staff to protest and mass outrage on social media against some of his jokes.
He also shared his backing for JK Rowling, who has also attracted criticism for her remarks about biological sex.
In the special, he stated that he does not hate transgender people, and tells a long anecdote about a trans woman comic, who he describes as a friend, who came to his defense in earlier entanglements with the community.
Chappelle added: ‘Every human being in this room, every human being on Earth, had to pass through the legs of a woman to be on Earth. That is a fact.’
In the contentious special, Chappelle also joked that women today view transwomen the same way black people might view white women wearing blackface, and remarked that women are entitled to feel anger toward transwomen, since Caitlyn Jenner won Glamour magazine’s 2015 Woman of the Year award.
‘I’d be mad as sh*t if I was a woman,’ Chappelle said.
The star also joked about the anatomy of transwomen, joking that they lacked real female reproductive organs and that they did not have blood but ‘beet juice’.
The comments prompted calls for Netflix to take down the show, but boss Ted Sarandos told staff that ‘content on screen doesn’t translate to real-world harm’.
Those who have criticized Chapelle’s jokes have specifically cited the physical danger faced by the trans community as a result of anti-trans ideology.
Chris Rock performed later in the event last night and was similarly subjected to a violent outburst on stage at the Oscars in March
The attack comes weeks after Will Smith attacked Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars, raising fears it would inspire similar violent protests against performers.
The actor slapped the comedian on stage after a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett-Smith’s shaved head. Pinkett-Smith has been open in the past about her struggles with alopecia.
After the slap, Smith returned to his seat and screamed ‘keep my wife’s name out of your f*****g mouth.’
He the then won the Oscar for Best Actor in his role as Richard Williams, in the film King Richard. He used his speech to apologize to the Academy and he later posted an apology on Instagram.
Rock has mostly kept quiet on the issue, speaking out only to say he was ‘processing’ what happened.
The incident prompted members of the comedy community, including Jack Whitehall and Kathy Griffin, to voice their fears that performers are no longer safe on stage.
Last night’s event was the first ever live Netflix comedy festival and features performances from big name stars including Seth Rogen, Snoop Dogg, Bill Burr and Pete Davidson.
