An Armed Man Was Beaten Up In A “Free-For-All” After Attacking Dave Chappelle Live Onstage During His Stand-Up Routine

During his set, Dave had joked about needing more security due to backlash over his jokes about transgender people.

A man attacked Dave Chappelle live onstage during a comedy show in Los Angeles late on Tuesday night. 

The comic was performing at the Netflix Is a Joke festival at the Hollywood Bowl when someone in the audience jumped onto the stage, ran at Chappelle, and, knocked him to the ground, according to BuzzFeed News reporter Brianna Sacks, who was at the show. 

Chappelle was just about to introduce performances by hip-hop artists yasiin bey and Talib Kweli when the man attacked him. Security team members sprinted on stage from all directions, chasing the man as the Chappelle regained composure. Gasps and shouts could be heard across the venue as the crowd watched, stunned. A group of about 10 people then started beating the man in the back right corner of the stage, punching and kicking him while he was on the ground.

"I am going to kill that motherfucker," Chappelle said before walking closer to the scuffle, adding, "Wait, I got to see this."

Returning to talk to his riled audience, the comedian joked, "thank God he was clumsy," and told the crowd the attacker was "back there getting stomped."

"Where the fuck did he come from?" Chappelle wondered. 

The Los Angeles Police Department has confirmed the incident and said that the male suspect was armed with a replica gun that could eject a knife blade. It is not known whether he attempted to use the weapon when attacking Chappelle, who authorities confirmed was not injured.

Before the onstage attack, Chappelle, who has faced fierce rebuke for comments he made about transgender people during a Netflix special, joked about having more security onstage because of the danger comedians now face after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock, who also performed at the show. Toward the end of his performance, Chappelle told a story about how a man showed up at his house while he and his wife were home.

The attack was stunning to watch, and at first, it was difficult for the audience to discern what was going on. Chappelle had just ended his set and the crowd was moving toward the exits when the comedian came back onstage for an encore. He started to introduce musicians Talib Kweli and Mos Def when a man suddenly leaped up from the pit on the left side of the stage and charged at Chappelle with his head down. The comedian tried to dodge the tackle but was knocked over. The two scuffled while security sprinted from across the stage.

Once free, Chappelle moved back to the center of the stage as a crowd of people cornered the attacker in the back. The group then started kicking and punching him while he was on the ground as Chappelle, stunned, looked on and kept going with the show. At one point, Chappelle walked up closer to see the confrontation and mentioned a few times how he had "stomped" the attacker.

The shocking incident brought a swarm of people on stage, including Jamie Foxx, who then took the mic and said, "Nigga, I thought that was part of the show," before trailing off. He then went on to tell the cheering crowd that Chappelle was "an absolute genius," adding, "We have to make sure we protect him at all times."

Chris Rock also came back onstage, and the two comedians joked about the attacker potentially being "Will." Chappelle also made a joke about him being transgender. 

"It was — it was a trans man," he said as the crowd laughed. 

At the beginning of his set, the comedian addressed the issue, saying that he originally had nothing against trans people and wished that they had watched the entire special until the end instead of taking specific jokes out of context. But after the community tried to cancel him, he joked that now he does have an issue with the transgender community.

In the past, Chappelle has faced severe criticism for a Netflix special in which he repeatedly joked about trans people. Netflix employees walked out and demanded that their employer remove the special. The media giant has refused to do so.

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

Twitter: @bri_sacks

Security et al rushed and started punching and kicking the shit out of Chapelle’s attacker. He was just about to bring on Talib Kweli and Mos Def for the encode and we in the crowd were like what the fuck is going on. Chapelle kept on while the guy was getting beat in the back

Twitter: @bri_sacks

Chappelle carried on with the show after composing himself, and at one point branded the attacker an “idiot” as he walked over to where he was being beaten up.

He was also supported by Jamie Foxx and Chris Rock, who both joined him onstage after having appeared earlier in the show.

Back in March, Chris was famously slapped by Will Smith live onstage at the Oscars after making a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald head.

He referenced this after Chappelle’s attack, jokingly asking the crowd, “Was that Will Smith?”

Meanwhile, Foxx came onstage wearing a sheriff’s hat as he admitted that he originally thought that the whole thing was part of Chappelle’s set.

In a video of the aftermath shared on Twitter, Foxx can be heard saying: “I thought this was part of the show, I don’t know, what the fuck!”

Here is a video of the aftermath. #DaveChappelle handled this like a champ! #HollywoodBowl

Twitter: @e5quire

In the same clip, Chappelle jokes: “Whenever you’re in trouble, Jamie Foxx will show up in a sheriff’s hat!” He later tells the actor: “I grabbed the back of that n****’s head. His hair was spongey, absorbent.”

Foxx also heaped praise on Chappelle as he told the audience that he must be protected. He said: “This man is an absolute genius, we gotta make sure that we protect him at all times, man.”

“Every comedian comes out here, this means everything. You’re a genius, you’re a legend, and we’re not gonna let anything happen to you,” he added.

“I’ve been doing this 35 years, I just stomped a n**** backstage, always wanted to do that,” Chappelle replied.

Chappelle also joked about his attacker being a transgender man after he’d riffed on the trans community for the majority of his set.

Someone just ran on stage and attacked Dave Chappelle 😮 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles #netflixisajokefest #netflixisajoke

Twitter: @DoZay1

In fact, earlier in the show Chappelle had even said that he had extra security onstage due to the backlash over his jokes about transgender people.

Chappelle also addressed the “new reality” of being a comedian in reference to the Will Smith slap, revealing that his wife is concerned for his safety after a man turned up at their home and chased Chappelle in his car.

LAPD officers arrived behind the stage to arrest Chappelle’s attacker, and authorities had cordoned off the area outside of the venue as medics tended to the suspect, who was seemingly strapped to a chair in an ambulance.

Members of the audience cursed at the suspect as they walked out of the Hollywood Bowl after the eventful night.

Someone attacked Dave Chappelle at his show and his security team left that man looking like Mojo JoJo.

Twitter: @nuffsaidny

Neither Foxx or Rock have publicly commented on the incident, but British comedian Jimmy Carr shared a selfie that he’d taken with Chappelle earlier in the day.

“The Hollywood Bowl show with the legendary Dave Chappelle was crazy. Just happy everyone’s ok,” he wrote as he shared the photo to Twitter.

The Hollywood Bowl show with the legendary Dave Chappelle was crazy. Just happy everyone’s ok.

Twitter: @jimmycarr

Chappelle was billed for four shows during the Netflix Is a Joke festival and Tuesday was his final performance at the event, which runs until May 8.

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