Dave Chappelle Attacked Onstage, Suspect Identified

Dave Chappelle was attacked Tuesday night during his “Netflix Is a Joke Presents: Dave Chappelle and Friends” performance at the Hollywood Bowl.

A man in a black hoodie rushed the stage and tackled Chappelle to the ground just as he was wrapping up his routine. The attacker tried to get away, but security was able to chase him down.

The tackle was caught on video, check it out below!

As well as this footage, obtained by TMZ below.

People magazine reports Chappelle told the audience in the aftermath of the attack, "Everybody compose themselves. I want this to be a peaceful moment."

The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed to People, that the suspect is Isaiah Lee, 23, who is now facing a felony assault charge with a deadly weapon. Police told the magazine he was carrying “a replica handgun with a knife” calling it a "replica handgun-slash-knife.”

Lee is being held at the Los Angeles City Jail on a $30,000 bond. It is unknown if he has a lawyer.

Buzzfeed News reporter Brianna Sacks, who was at the show, tweeted video of Lee being loaded into the ambulance. She wrote, “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.”

Chappelle had reportedly made jokes during his set about beefing up security.

The Associated Press says Chappelle brought up the Oscars, where Will Smith slapped Chris Rock for making a joke about Will’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith, and according to Sacks, Dave also talked about increasing security after coming under fire in 2021 for jokes about the trans community in his Netflix special “The Closer.”

Sacks tweeted, “The comedian had literally just said he now has more security because of all the uproar from his jokes about the Trans community,” adding that “while the attacker was getting beat up,” Chappelle “made a joke about him probably being a Trans man.”

The attack also drew attention from other stars at the show. Rock, who performed earlier, reportedly took the stage and jokingly asked if the attacker was Will Smith.