Late Tuesday night, a man rushed the stage and tackled Dave Chappelle during his act as part of the Netflix Is a Joke: The Festival in Los Angeles.
According to NBC Los Angeles, the attacker — who has been identified as 23-year-old Isaiah Lee — was detained by security and transported to the hospital with superficial injuries, and Chappelle was not injured during the attack.
After the attack, comedian Chris Rock joined Chappelle on stage and took the mic and said, “Was that Will Smith?” before the crowd erupted in laughter. Rock was referencing the infamous Oscars slap that took place in March, but he still has not addressed directly in public.
Rock was in attendance at the show because he also performed at the event earlier in the evening, which is taking place from April 28 to May 8. Rock is currently on his Ego Death World Tour. After the slap at the Oscars, his first night on tour sold out.
The suspect who tackled Chappelle was armed with a replica gun, which looks like a gun, but is actually a knife. Chappelle has not spoken publicly about the attack yet. His previous Netflix special “The Closer” received backlash for jokes made about the transgender community, but a motive for the attack is unclear.
