This past Tuesday night around 10:40 p.m., a Los Angeles man, Isaiah Lee, 23, rushed onto the Hollywood Bowl stage while Dave Chappelle was performing and tackled the comedian.
When police arrested Lee, during the Netflix is A Joke comedy festival, he was carrying what police believed to be a gun, but turned out to be a replica with a large blade that folded like a pocketknife.
Bowl Security chased Lee around the stage and subdued him. Lee was taken away in an ambulance for treatment of an unspecified injury.
LAPD spokesperson Officer Lizeth Lomeli told CNN that Chappelle “had finished his act and as he was exiting the stage, a male who was part of the audience jumped on the stage and tackled this celebrity to the ground.” Watch the video from News Nation below:
Academy Award-winner, Jamie Foxx, and comedian, Chris Rock, helped calm the situation with humor before Chappelle returned to the stage. Rock cracked a joke about the attacker being “Will Smith.” Chappelle returned to the stage after a short break and went on with the show, ad-libbing jokes about the incident and introducing the last musical act of the night.
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Lee Charged with Four Misdemeanors
After reviewing the evidence, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office has decided “that while criminal conduct occurred, the evidence as presented did not constitute felony conduct,” the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said in a statement. The case has been referred to the Los Angeles city attorney’s office, which prosecutes misdemeanors within the city.
According to Fox 11 News, Lee was still being held Thursday in lieu of $30,000 bail. It was not immediately known if he had retained a lawyer, and the motive for the attack was unclear.
Chappelle Camp Responds
A representative for Dave Chappelle finally released a statement regarding an audience member who attacked him Tuesday night while the comedian was performing at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. “As unfortunate and unsettling as the incident was, Chappelle went on with the show,” Carla Sims, Chappelle’s representative, said in a statement. “Jamie Foxx and Chris Rock helped calm the crowd with humor before Chappelle introduced the last and featured musical guests for the evening.”
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