Man accused of tackling comic Dave Chappelle on stage is charged with assault By Reuters

By Dan Whitcomb and Steve Gorman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -The person accused of tackling comic Dave Chappelle to the stage ground throughout a efficiency on the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles was charged on Wednesday with felony assault with a lethal weapon.

The assault on Chappelle, 48, occurred Tuesday night time throughout a sold-out look by the Emmy-winning entertainer as a part of an 11-day “Netflix (NASDAQ:) is a Joke” pageant, that includes lots of the main names in stand-up comedy.

A Los Angeles Police Division spokesperson stated the suspect had in his possession a duplicate handgun containing a knife blade when he attacked Chappelle.

A short while after the assault, Chappelle was joined onstage by fellow comedian Chris Rock, who took the microphone and quipped, “Was that Will Smith?” – a reference to his personal expertise of being slapped by the Hollywood star throughout the dwell Oscars telecast on March 27.

Chappelle appeared to emerge unscathed from Tuesday’s assault and went on with the present, ad-libbing jokes concerning the incident and about what occurred to the suspect, who was seen being chased down onstage by safety personnel.

Chappelle stated it was lucky his assailant was “clumsy,” including, “He is again there getting stomped,” in accordance with video footage of the altercation posted on-line by the superstar information web site TMZ.com.

Photographs of the suspect seated on an ambulance gurney afterward confirmed his face visibly bruised and his proper arm apparently dislocated or damaged.

Police later recognized him as 23-year-old Isaiah Lee, who was being held in jail on a $30,000 bond after being charged.

No court docket listening to was instantly scheduled for Lee, in accordance with on-line jail information.

FOLLOWS ‘CANCEL CULTURE’ CONTROVERSY

There was no phrase from authorities a few motive for the assault, which in accordance with The Los Angeles Occasions unfolded after a routine during which Chappelle, attired in a enterprise go well with, talked about comedians worrying extra about private security nowadays and launched his personal safety guard on stage.

Chappelle drew a backlash final 12 months for materials offered in his Netflix comedy particular “The Nearer” that some within the LGBTQ group branded as ridicule of transgender folks. Supporters of the comic seen the fabric in query as a cry towards “cancel tradition.”

The comic himself alluded to the controversy from the stage shortly after he was tackled on Tuesday, quipping, “It was a trans man,” eliciting laughter from the group.

The assault occurred because the comic, headlining a multi-act present billed as “Dave Chappelle and Buddies,” was acknowledging a producer who was working on the present’s DJ sales space.

Video of the incident exhibits the suspect charging onto the stage, apparently from the viewers, and launching his higher physique into Chappelle, slamming his shoulder into the comic’s ribs and chest.

Each males fell to the ground earlier than scrambling again to their toes, and the suspect darted away, chased briefly by Chappelle at first. He dodged a swarm of individuals for a number of seconds earlier than they tackled him close to the again of the stage.

The incident sparked fast comparisons to the Oscar-night conflict between Smith and Rock, an unprecedented incident on the globally televised occasion that prompted considerations that different performers would possibly face copycat assaults.

“As unlucky and unsettling because the incident was, Chappelle went on with the present,” his spokesperson, Carla Sims, stated in an announcement on Wednesday, crediting Rock and fellow comedian-actor Jamie Foxx with serving to to “calm the group.”

Following the assault, she stated Chappelle launched the ultimate act of the present, the hip-hop musical duo Black Star. Different comedians on the invoice included Earthquake, Leslie Jones, Jeff Ross, Sebastian, Jon Stewart and Michelle Wolf.

Chappelle was “absolutely cooperating with the lively police investigation of this incident,” Sims stated.

A consultant for the Hollywood Bowl, one of the crucial well-known leisure venues in Los Angeles, instructed Reuters the incident was below investigation, declining to remark additional.