Dave Chappelle, the US comedian, has been attacked on stage during a performance in Los Angeles.
The funnyman was at the Hollywood Bowl on Tuesday as some video clips circulating on social media showed someone running into him.
Further videos showed Chappelle visibly unharmed after returning to the stage at the Netflix joke festival.
Chappelle was on the receiving end of heated backlash in 2021 when his Netflix special was dubbed transphobic.
It was gathered that after the comedian took to the stage to perform on Tuesday, he had joked, “It was a trans man” who attacked him.
Jamie Foxx, the Hollywood actor, was among those who ran to the stage to help after the incident. Chris Rock, who was slapped by Will Smith at the Oscars, also performed at the show.
Dave Chappelle was attacked while performing at the Hollywood Bowl tonight
Chris Rock came on stage after and said, “Was that Will Smith?” 😂
(via @WashNews)pic.twitter.com/hpmL6gwNbj
— Culture Crave 🍿 (@CultureCrave) May 4, 2022
Dave Chapelle was rushed & attacked on stage by a man at the Hollywood Bowl. Chapelle tussled w/ the man, who ran behind the screen on stage & was surrounded by security. Chris Rock, who performed earlier, came on stage w/ him & joked: “Was that Will Smith?” #netflixisajokefest
— Stephanie Wash (@WashNews) May 4, 2022
Chris Rock and John Stewart were among the group of comedians performing alongside Dave Chappelle tonight when the incident happened. Jamie Foxx jumped onstage to help and make sure Dave was OK
— Sharon Carpenter (@sharoncarpenter) May 4, 2022
Someone attacked Dave Chappelle at his show and his security team left that man looking like Mojo JoJo. pic.twitter.com/pna2642x7G
— NUFF (@nuffsaidny) May 4, 2022
Last October, about 100 persons protested outside Netflix’s headquarters over ‘The Closer’, Chappelle’s comedy special.
They had opposed the special in which Chappelle said “gender is a fact” and that LGBT people were “too sensitive”.
The attack on Chappelle is likely to raise concerns about freedom of speech and the security of comedians and performers.
Chappelle’s experience comes after Will Smith, the actor, dealt Chris Rock a slap on the stage at the 2022 Oscars.
Rock had, in a joke, mocked Jada Pinkett’s shaved head — something the actress said was due to a hair loss condition.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) later banned Smith from the Oscars for 10 years. (The Cable Lifestyle)
