The comedian Dave Chapelle was attacked on stage in Los Angeles last night. He was performing a show that was being taped for Netflix. Chapelle was unhurt and his attacker was arrested.
According to The Mail Online:
Video from last night’s Netflix Is A Joke event shows a man charging on to the stage and tackling the comedian before being dragged off by security.
Jamie Foxx, who was watching the show from the wings of the Hollywood Bowl wearing a sheriff’s hat, rushed on stage to help detain the attacker.
Chappelle, who sparked outrage in the trans community with controversial comments in a Netflix show last year, appeared to be uninjured and continued with his set, joking: ‘It was a trans man’.
Chris Rock, who performed later in the event last night and was similarly subjected to a violent outburst on stage at the Oscars in March, came on stage and joked: ‘Was that Will Smith?’
Footage later appears to show the attacker being treated by paramedics for a badly injured arm before he was taken to hospital in an ambulance.
The venue said on its website that the show, which last night was titled Dave Chappelle and Friends, would be a ‘phone-free experience’ and that the audience would have to secure their phones inside pouches.
After the attacker was detained, Chappelle thanked Foxx on stage during the curtain call.
He said: ‘Shout out to Jamie Foxx by the way. Whenever you’re in trouble, Jamie Foxx will show up in a sheriff’s hat.’
The attack may be unrelated to Chappelle’s previous comments on trans issues but it probably is.
I’ve received several threats over the years after shows where I’ve discussed the issue.
Last year, someone sent a message through the website threatening to kill me if I continued to mis-gender trans women.
Of course, there’s no such thing as a trans woman but you cannot reason with lunatics.
