Comedian Dave Chapel was attacked on stage by an armed man on Tuesday night while performing at the Hollywood Bowl Arena in Los Angeles, as videos from audience members’ cell phones quickly flooded social media and showed a man getting on stage and doing comics. . The Los Angeles Police Department told CBS in Los Angeles that a 23-year-old man armed with a spear of a pistol containing a knife blade had been arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon.
Chapel was not injured in the attack.
Los Angeles police have identified the suspect as Isaiah Lee of Los Angeles. After the incident, Lee was transported to the hospital “for treatment of injuries” before being taken to the police station and arrested. Lee was detained on $ 30,000 bail on charges of assault with a deadly weapon.
Chappelle spokesman Carla Sims said in a statement that “Chappelle is fully cooperating in the active police investigation into the incident.”
A man was transported in an ambulance after comedian Dave Chapel was attacked on stage during a Netflix stand-up show at the Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, on May 3, 2022, in this still image obtained from a video on social media. Theodore Nvajei / via REUTERS
“Chappelle’s performances at the Hollywood Bowl were epic and breaking records, and he refuses to allow last night’s incident to overshadow the magic of this historic moment,” Sims said.
Chappelle, whose inexcusable humor turned him into a lightning rod for criticism, seems unharmed by the sudden interruption and later joked (Note: the related video contains rude language, including swearing) with fellow comedian and actor Jamie Foxx on stage that he took revenge on his attacker.
Videos posted on Twitter appear to show that the person who accused Chappelle was detained outside the scene by police and then loaded into an ambulance with visible injuries. Witnesses said – and videos appear to show – that the man was attacked by many people on stage as soon as he attacked Chappelle.
The idiot was beaten after attacking Dave Chapel in the Hollywood Bowl pic.twitter.com/Ft0FIUyjWv
– Jed JIM (@JEDSIMON) May 4, 2022
While the entire failure was filmed in a number of videos shot by members of the audience, the use of mobile phones was officially banned during the show.
The motivation for the initial attack remained unclear.
Chappelle was on stage as part of the comedy festival “Netflix Is a Joke”, sponsored by the streaming giant.
“We care deeply about the safety of the creators and strongly support the right of stand-up comedians to perform on stage without fear of violence,” a Netflix spokesman said in a statement.
I just got out of the Hollywood Bowl, where a man pounced and collided with Dave Chapel on stage and was kicked in the ass by at least 10 people.
LAPD and LAFD now load it in an ambulance pic.twitter.com/7SXPe9e8az
– Briana Sachs (@bri_sacks) May 4, 2022
Comedian Chris Rock was on the show and jokingly asked if the attacker was Will Smith – who made a splash when he took the stage and hit Rock at the Oscars in March.
Chappelle received a sharp rebuke late last year from the transgender community for jokes about them, included in his latest special Netflix special, “The Closer,” which premiered in October.
Netflix stood by local Washington, D.C., continuing to broadcast the special edition, although hundreds of its own employees staged a tour of what they considered to be Chappelle’s transphobic jokes.
The comedian later said he would be happy to meet with any member of the transgender community, but that he would not be influenced by “anyone’s demands” to censor his routine.
Transsexual employees and Netflix allies plan a walk because of the new special program of David Chapel 17:18
“For the transgender community, I am more than ready to give you an audience, but you will not call me. I do not obey anyone’s requirements, “he told the public in a video posted on his Instagram.
The 48-year-old comedian listed three conditions for each potential meeting and responded to fellow comedian Hannah Gadsby, who called Chapelle’s special Netflix a “hate speech.”
“If you want to meet me, I would be more than ready, but I have conditions: First, you can’t come if you haven’t watched my special film from start to finish. You must come to a place of my choice and a time of my choice. And third, you have to admit that Hannah Gadsby is not funny. “
The Associated Press contributed to the report.
More Tucker Reals
Tucker Reals is the foreign editor of CBSNews.com, based at CBS News in London.
Add Comment