Comedian, Dave Chappelle, has responded publicly for the first time since a knife-wielding man attacked him on stage in Los Angeles on Wednesday, May 4, 2022.
The shocking video footage circling online shows Chappelle standing on stage as the attacker tackles him to the ground, before security stepped in. Chappelle was performing at ‘Netflix is a Joke: The Festival’, with fellow comedians Jamie Foxx, Chris Rock, and Leslie Jones present in the audience.
A representative for Dave Chappelle released a statement saying: “As unfortunate and unsettling as the incident was, Chappelle went on with the show”.
“Jamie Foxx and Chris Rock helped calm the crowd with humor before Chappelle introduced the last and featured musical guests for the evening,” Chapelle’s spokeswoman, Carla Sims told local media.
A witness who was present at the show disclosed that the attacker who was wearing a backpack was dragged off stage after he launched his attack. According to the witness, Chappelle was heard shouting “Don’t do this on stage. Take him off”.
The offender was charged with assault with a deadly weapon after the incident at the Hollywood Bowl.
Immediately following the incident, fellow comedian Chris Rock took to the stage to ease the situation, joking, “Was that Will Smith?”, a reference to the infamous Oscars slap in March.
Details of the attack from LAPD
The man who tackled Chappelle, identified as Isaiah Lee, 23, had a knife and is in custody, according to a statement from LAPD.
According to LAPD, Chappelle had finished his act and as he was exiting the stage a male, who was part of the audience, jumped onto the stage and tackled the comedian to the ground.
“Hollywood Bowl uniformed security officers, who witnessed the incident, engaged the suspect and removed him from the victim and took him into custody,” the police statement indicated.
Meanwhile, Lee is being held on approximately $41,400 bail, per reports. The statement noted that Chappelle was not injured as a result of the assault with Lee’s weapon, a knife blade, concealed inside a replica handgun. Police later released photos of the weapon, which was collected and booked as evidence.
The LAPD noted that Lee “was treated and cleared to be processed by medical staff”, while Chappelle is fully cooperating with the investigation.
The motive of the apparent attack, which occurred at about 10:40 pm, remains unclear. It also is unknown whether Chappelle filed an official police report.
Streaming giant Netflix, which was hosting the comedy set, also released a statement following the incident.
“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,” the statement read.
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