Comedian Dave Chappelle, who seemed to court controversy in recent years, courted danger at his latest concert performance at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
Chappelle was closing down his set during the “Netflix Is a Joke Festival” on Tuesday, May 4, 2022, when a man stormed the stage and tackled Chappelle, knocking him to the ground.
Afterwards, the unidentified man tried to flee and outrun security, to no avail. Buzzfeed reported the man was beaten so bad that one of his arms was mangled and may be broken at the elbow.
#davechappelle attacked at #hollywoodbowl #netflixisajoke pic.twitter.com/oP04S0de90
— abazar 🦇🔊 (@abazar) May 4, 2022
Chappelle escaped unscathed from the attack. However, the Los Angeles Police Department reported to NBC News that the man was armed with a replica gun “that can eject a knife blade” when discharged. There is no indication that the man tried to use the weapon. According to the below video, the man did not have the time even if he intended to use the weapon.
Meanwhile, ABC News reporter Stephanie Wash said that Chappelle returned to the stage where he joked that the assailant was a “trans man.” It was in obvious reference to the wrath Chappelle incurred in 2021 after the airing of his “The Closer” comedy special where he made incendiary comments about the LBGTQ+ community.
Chris Rock, who performed earlier in the evening, returned to the stage after the attack to join Chappelle and yelled: “Was that Will Smith?” which was met with uproarious laughter.
Chris rock after Dave Chappelle get attacked on stage “is that will smith “😂 pic.twitter.com/hw4PWZWC6y
— abdulaziz (@abdulaziz0m) May 4, 2022
Another attendee videotaped Chappelle during his curtain call where the Half Baked jokester thanked fellow actor-comedian Jamie Foxx.
“Whenever you’re in trouble, Jamie Foxx will show up in a sheriff’s hat,” Chappelle said to laughter.
“N—a, I thought that was part of the show, I didn’t know what the f–k…” Foxx shot back to more giggles from the capacity crowd.
Chappelle then says, “I grabbed the back of that n—a’s head. His hair was spongy. Absorbent.”
Foxx closed out the on-stage conversation by imploring fans to protect Chappelle. “Listen, I just want to say, this man is an absolute genius. We’ve got to make sure we protect him at all times,” said Foxx.
“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.”
Here is a video of the aftermath. #DaveChappelle handled this like a champ! #HollywoodBowl pic.twitter.com/0xaBpWsbrT
— E5QUIRE (@e5quire) May 4, 2022
Later that evening, one of the attendees captured the assailant after he was pummeled into submission by the battery of security on hand. The man was transported to a local hospital to treat his right arm which was broken at the elbow and bent opposite of the normal position.
Someone tried to Will Smith Dave Chappelle.
Stop attacking people at their workplace and you won't end up looking like a pretzel. https://t.co/dvlFBPPw1e
— Paul (@PaulTweetsDaily) May 4, 2022
