A member of the Los Angeles crowd assaulted comedian Dave Chappelle on stage during his show Tuesday night, but he was uninjured, according to witnesses.
Security personnel pursued and held the assailant until he was removed off the Hollywood Bowl stage. The assailant was taken away on a stretcher after sustaining injuries to his arm and face, according to security personnel.
In a reference to prior remarks in his show that implied he felt attacked by transgender people and previous material that has been slammed as transphobic, the comic seemed to lose his composure for a brief time.
Chappelle went into hiding at one point in order to find the perpetrator. As soon as he got back, he added, “This is my 35th year of doing it. Stomping on a [n-word] backstage was something I’d always wanted to do “implying that he was referring to his attacker.
The Closer, Chappelle’s Netflix special scheduled for release in 2021, sparked outrage when it was announced in October. J.K. Rowling’s opponents have accused her of being transphobic, and in the show, Chappelle makes fun of trans women and their genitals.
In March, Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on the Oscars stage after the comedian made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Smith responded by slapping him in the face.
When Chappelle was on stage earlier in his show at the Netflix Is A Joke festival, he spoke about “the slap heard round the world,” and he expressed his admiration for the conduct of both Smith and Rock in the same breath.
Back on stage, Rock quipped, “Was that Will Smith?” after a short appearance earlier in the event.
In the wake of an enquiry, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences barred Smith from all Academy events, virtual or otherwise, for a period of ten years.
To close the show, Chappelle introduced Yasiin Bey and Talib Kweli and DJ Madlib as Black Star, a rap duet that included DJ Madlib.