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Dave Chappelle attacked onstage during stand up routine
Entertainment May 04, 2022
Dave Chappelle on stage in 2018. | Photo Courtesy of Raph_PH/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
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A man armed with a replica gun tackled comedian Dave Chappelle on stage during a performance for Netflix Is A Joke Fest at the Hollywood Bowl, police said Wednesday.
The man was grabbed by security and subdued after he rushed Chappelle, according to broadcast reports.
Los Angeles Police Department officers responded at 10:45 p.m. Tuesday to the Hollywood Bowl where a man armed with a gun and a knife was taken into custody, ABC7 reported.
An online video showed Chappelle falling to the ground while the venue’s security staff rushed on stage to subdue his assailant.
LAPD said one of the weapons the man was carrying can eject a knife blade “when you discharge it correctly,” according to NBC 4.
Reports from the scene said Chappelle was not injured in the melee and the attacker sustained “superficial injuries.”
Aerial footage showed the comedian’s assailant being placed on a gurney and taken away in an ambulance.
Social media postings showed Chappelle continuing with the show after the attacker was taken away, according to ABC 7.
Chappelle appears to recover his composure in video footage after the attack, and joke, “It was a trans man.” The joke was a reference to controversy surrounding some of Chappelle’s jokes in his Netflix specials that have been described as transphobic.
Chris Rock, who performed earlier in the show, came on stage afterward and joked, “Was that Will Smith?” Stephanie Wash, a journalist with ABC tweeted.
Smith walked on stage and slapped Rock last month during the Oscars after Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
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