After Dave Chappellehe was knocked to ground during his Netflix Is a Joke Festival set, his attacker was identified and arrested.
Us Weekly That was confirmed Wednesday, May 4. Isaiah LeeThe Los Angeles Police Department took Lee into custody hours earlier for an assault with a deadly weapons charge. This was after he had lunged at the comedian that night. Lee, 23, is currently being held on $30,000 bail.
The Chappelle’s Show The 48-year-old alum was performing at Hollywood Bowl on Tuesday May 3 when Lee ran from his place in the crowd to the stage. According to footage on social media, Chappelle appears to have been pushed to the ground. Lee tried to flee the stage moments later but was stopped by security guards. You’ve Got Mail actor’s team.
Chappelle was tapped to headline a “Dave Chappelle and Friends” special earlier this month as part of the Netflix Is a Joke festival. Per a description on the event website, it was meant to be a “phone-free experience.” While guests remained in possession of their smartphones, devices were to be secured in individual, sealed pouches provided by the venue for the duration of the show.
The A Star Is Born actor’s set comes nearly one year after he caught flak for making controversial jokes in his The Closer Special for Netflix Many believed his comments were transphobic. That led to several employees to walk out of the streaming platform in October 2021.
“When we think about this challenge we have to entertain the world,” Netflix’s CEO Ted SarandosSubmitted The Hollywood Reporter At the time, the special was being defended. “Part of that challenge means that you’ve got audiences with various taste, various sensibilities, various beliefs. You really can’t please everybody or the content would be pretty dull.”
During his Tuesday set, Chappelle allegedly referred to Lee as a “trans man,” according to multiple reports, shortly after Lee was removed from the venue. A number of famous faces were also present during the performance at Hollywood Bowl. Both Jamie Foxx Chris Rock — the latter of whom made headlines two months prior when he was slapped by Will Smith at the 2022 Oscars — were spotted at the show.
The South Carolina native, 57, took the stage shortly after the incident and joked, “Was that Will Smith?” (While Rock presented the Best Documentary Feature trophy at the Academy Awards in March, he made a joke about Jada pinkett Smith. The result is that the King Richard Star walked on stage and slapped him, before apologizing the next day.
Both Rock and The Ray The 54-year-old star shared their support for Chappelle on the show.
“I thought that was part of the show, I didn’t know what the f–k [happened],” Foxx said during the curtain call according to Twitter footage. “Listen, I just want to say, this man is an absolute genius. We’ve got to make sure we protect him at all times. This is crucial for every comedian who comes to this event. You’re a genius. You’re a legend, I enjoyed myself thoroughly, and we’re not going to let nothing happen to you.”
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