Dave Chappelle Issues Statement After Being Attacked During Netflix Is A Joke Comedy Festival

Dave Chappelle and Friends. Dave Chappelle at the Hollywood Bowl for Netflix Is A Joke Fest. Cr. Mathieu Bitton/Netflix © 2022

Comedian and actor Dave Chappelle issued a statement after he was violently attacked on stage during his final appearance at the Hollywood Bowl during the Netflix is a Joke festival.

Dave Chappelle and Friends. Dave Chappelle at the Hollywood Bowl for Netflix Is A Joke Fest. Cr. Mathieu Bitton/Netflix © 2022

Chappelle was violently attacked on stage towards the end of his set with police arresting 23-year old male Isaiah Lee on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.

According to NBC News Los Angeles, Lee was armed with a replica gun “that can eject a knife blade.” However, they noted, “It is not clear whether he used the weapon in the attack.”

RELATED: Comedian Dave Chappelle Attacked During Comedy Festival In Los Angeles, Attacker Had Replica Gun With Ejectable Knife Blade

After attacking Chappelle, the man was mobbed by the event and Chappelle’s own security with BuzzFeed reporter Brianna Sacks claiming they “rushed and started punching and kicking the s*** out of Chappelle’s attacker.”

Source: Brianna Sacks Twitter

Police and rescue would eventually arrive on the scene and transport the suspect into an ambulance.

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Chappelle continued the showing even joking that the attacker was a trans man. 

Chris Rock, who was also in attendance and had performed a set earlier, jokingly asked, “Was that Will Smith?”

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In response to the attack, Deadline reports Chappelle issued a statement that begins, “Dave Chappelle celebrated four nights of comedy and music, setting record-breaking sales for a comedian at the Hollywood Bowl.

It continued, “This run ties Chappelle with Monty Python for the most headlined shows by any comedian at the Hollywood Bowl, reaching 70k fans of diverse backgrounds during the first Netflix Is A Joke: The Festival, and he refuses to allow last night’s incident to overshadow the magic of this historic moment.”

Dave Chappelle and Friends. Dave Chappelle at the Hollywood Bowl for Netflix Is A Joke Fest. Cr. Mathieu Bitton/Netflix © 2022

“As unfortunate and unsettling as the incident was, Chappelle went on with the show. Jamie Foxx and Chris Rock helped calm the crowd with humor before Chappelle introduced the last and featured musical guests for the evening, hip-hop artists yasiin bey and Talib Kweli, a.k.a. Black Star, who performed music from their new album – the first in nearly 24 years – which was released on Luminary,” it read.

“Other special comedic guests last night included Earthquake, Leslie Jones, Jeff Ross, Sebastian, Jon Stewart and Michelle Wolf,” the statement concluded.

Dave Chappelle and Friends. Dave Chappelle at the Hollywood Bowl for Netflix Is A Joke Fest. Cr. Mathieu Bitton/Netflix © 2022

A Netflix spokesman also told Deadline, “We care deeply about the safety of creators and we strongly defend the right of stand-up comedians to perform on stage without fear of violence.”

Dave Chappelle and Friends. Dave Chappelle at the Hollywood Bowl for Netflix Is A Joke Fest. Cr. Mathieu Bitton/Netflix © 2022

What do you make of Chappelle’s statement? What do you make of this man attacking Chappelle on stage?

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