Comedian Dave Chappelle was in the middle of his set in Los Angeles when someone charged him on stage, tackling him to the ground before a stunned audience.
During the Hollywood Bowl Show, part of the Netflix Is A Joke Festival, the 48-year-old comedian was rushed by a man seen in videos posted online by witnesses. The attacker initially evaded security as he ran off the stage but was later caught. The shocking incident saw fellow comedian Jamie Foxx rushing in to help and prompted Chris Rock to joke that Will Smith was behind it.
Chappelle and the man “tussled on the stage floor before the man ran away behind a screen on stage. Security staff surrounded and tackled the man in the rear corner of the stage,” according to ABC News. “Chappelle appeared to run toward the altercation, saying the man was being ‘stomped.’ Chappelle asked repeatedly for security to remove the man from stage.”
Dave Chappelle was just assaulted on stage at his Hollywood Bowl show. He was finishing up his performance when a man ran on-stage and lunged at him knocking him to the floor. Security & his entourage then cornered the man as Dave joked about how him getting “stomped” backstage.
— Sharon Carpenter (@sharoncarpenter) May 4, 2022
Dave Chappelle just got attacked on stage
— Hoodville (@Hoodville_) May 4, 2022
The Los Angeles Police confirmed to ABC7 that they had received and responded to a call at the venue around 10:45 p.m. There were some reports that the man was armed with a gun and a knife.
Attendees of the show were reportedly not allowed to have their phones to record any of the performances so there is sparse video of the incident. But some managed to capture the moment as well as the following minutes.
LAPD confirm to KABC they responded to an incident at the Hollywood Bowl around 10:45 p.m., and a man who was reportedly armed with a gun and a knife was taken into custody. #netflixisajokefest #DaveChappelle
— Stephanie Wash (@WashNews) May 4, 2022
Wearing a sheriff’s hat and watching from the wings, Jamie Foxx came onstage to help as Chappelle’s security caught the attacker, reportedly raining down punches on him.
The idiot getting beaten down after attacking Dave Chappelle at Hollywood Bowl pic.twitter.com/Ft0FIUyjWv
— Jed Simon (@JEDSIMON) May 4, 2022
Unharmed in the incident, Chappelle, whose jokes about trans people in his Netflix comedy show “The Closer” sparked some backlash last year, could be heard in one video clip joking that, “It was a trans man” who attacked him.
Someone just ran on stage and attacked Dave Chappelle 😮 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles #netflixisajokefest #netflixisajoke pic.twitter.com/0WMUPQ7ks4
— DoZay (@DoZay1) May 4, 2022
“Shout out to Jamie Foxx by the way,” Chappelle thanked Foxx at the end of his set. “Whenever you’re in trouble, Jamie Foxx will show up in a sheriff’s hat.”
“N——, I thought that was part of the show, I didn’t know what the f–k…” Foxx responded.
Here is a video of the aftermath. #DaveChappelle handled this like a champ! #HollywoodBowl pic.twitter.com/0xaBpWsbrT
— E5QUIRE (@e5quire) May 4, 2022
“I grabbed the back of that n—— head. His hair was spongy. Absorbent,” Chappelle was heard saying, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“Listen, I just want to say, this man is an absolute genius. We’ve got to make sure we protect him at all times,” Foxx told the audience. “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.”
“I’ve been doing this for 35 years. I just stomped a n——— backstage. I’ve always wanted to do that,” Chappelle joked.
Chris Rock, who had performed earlier that night, was seen in some video clips joining Chappelle onstage in the aftermath and joking about his own experience when actor Will Smith slapped him on stage at the Academy Awards in March.
“Was that Will Smith?” he asked, joking.
I thought this was a joke, it actually happened. After Dave Chappelle gets tackled onstage, Chris Rock grabs the mic and says “was that Will Smith?” pic.twitter.com/8MoCO8L0iB
— Ezra (@EzraCeleste) May 4, 2022
As for the alleged attacker, the night did not end well for him.
**WARNING: GRAPHIC VIDEO**
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
(Video: ABC7)
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