A person armed with a reproduction gun attacked comic Dave Chappelle on stage Tuesday evening whereas he was performing on the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
A number of movies have been shared on-line exhibiting the attacker dashing the stage and tackling Chappelle. The comic fell to the ground as a number of theatregoers rushed to assist.
The Los Angeles Police Division confirmed early Wednesday that they’ve arrested 23-year-old Isaiah Lee in reference to the assault, as reported by NBC. Lee has been charged with felony assault with a lethal weapon and his bail has been set at US$13,000.
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In response to the LAPD, the reproduction gun that Lee was armed with can eject a knife blade “if you discharge it accurately,” but it surely’s unclear if the weapon was used within the assault.
Lee was detained by the venue’s safety group and brought to the hospital to be handled for “superficial accidents,” the LAPD mentioned. He was attending Chappelle’s present as a member of the viewers.
Chappelle, 48, was unhurt and returned to complete his set after the incident blew over. He joked to the viewers that the attacker “was a trans man,” referencing how the comic’s current feedback about gender identification have induced outrage within the transgender group. (The gender identification of the attacker has not been verified.)
No official motive has been established for the assault.
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The incident occurred simply as Chappelle was closing his set, which was a part of the Netflix Is a Joke comedy pageant. He was within the midst of thanking earlier performers Chris Rock, Leslie Jones and Jon Stewart when Lee rushed the stage.
Rock was on the centre of his personal on-stage assault when Will Smith famously slapped him on the 2022 Oscars for making a joke about his spouse, Jada Pinkett-Smith.
In response to ABC reporter Stephanie Wash, Rock joined Chappelle on stage after Tuesday’s incident and joked, “Was that Will Smith?”
One other journalist, Sharon Carpenter, initially thought that the attack was pre-planned.
“He fell backwards onto his again, together with his legs and arms up within the air. He was clearly in shock. We have been all in shock. And I assumed for a second: ‘OK, is that this a prank?’ as a result of that they had made some Will Smith jokes,” Carpenter mentioned.
After the assault, Carpenter mentioned that Chappelle tried to proceed with the set, “however he was additionally pissed off about it … What was loopy too is that earlier within the evening he made a joke about: ‘Oh, I heard individuals are getting slapped round right here.’”
Buzzfeed reporter Brianna Sacks talked about that Chappelle had spoken that evening about how he elevated his safety group within the wake of backlash in opposition to jokes he’s made concerning the transgender group.
When Chappelle’s 2021 Netflix particular The Nearer was launched, numerous the streaming firm’s workers staged a walkout to protest, calling Chappelle’s jokes transphobic. Chappelle supported J.Ok. Rowling in the course of the particular, agreeing along with her that “gender is a truth.”
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Whereas organic intercourse can influence one’s gender, many individuals don’t establish inside the gender binary of female and male, together with transgender, non-binary, gender-queer and gender-fluid individuals.
The Hollywood Bowl mentioned on its web site that Tuesday’s present was meant to be a “phone-free expertise,” with viewers members being required to safe their telephones in particular pouches. One one who shared a video of the assault mentioned they used a “forgotten” second telephone.
Chappelle has not but commented publicly on the assault.
A spokesperson for the Hollywood Bowl mentioned they’ve launched an investigation into the incident.
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