Comedian Dave Chappelle was attacked by a man carrying a knife on stage Tuesday night in Los Angeles, and he immediately said that the alleged assailant was transgender.
Chappelle was performing a show at the Hollywood Bowl for the “Netflix is a Joke” comedy festival when, at around 10:45 p.m., a man ran on-stage and lunged at Chappelle. Chappelle was knocked to the ground, according to journalist Sharon Carpenter.
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“Security & his entourage then cornered the man as Dave joked about how him getting ‘stomped’ backstage,” she wrote.
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The alleged assailant was taken to an ambulance outside after he “got his ass kicked by at least 10 people,” according to Buzzfeed News’s Brianna Sacks.
The LAPD said that the alleged assailant was taken into custody and that he was carrying a fake gun “that can eject a knife blade.” They also said that Chappelle was not injured in the attack.
By that time, Chappelle was back on stage, where he said: “It was a trans man.” The crowd laughed.
The joke was a reference to Chappelle’s extreme anti-transgender and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric. He made several anti-transgender and anti-gay jokes during his Netflix special The Closer, including announcing that he’s a trans-exclusionary radical feminist (TERF), ranting about trans women’s genitalia, and joking about beating up gay men and lesbians.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos said that they would not remove the special because it was just too popular. In the midst of employee protests, Netflix fired a pregnant, Black, transgender worker and said it was because they leaked metrics to the media.
They also suspended another transgender employee who was speaking out against the special, saying it was because she tried to attend a meeting she wasn’t supposed to attend. The employee ultimately resigned.
Chappelle has complained about being “canceled” in the months since, all while his comedy specials stay on Netflix and he continues to perform gigs just like before.
#davechappelle attacked at #hollywoodbowl #netflixisajoke pic.twitter.com/oP04S0de90
— abazar 🦇🔊 (@abazar) May 4, 2022
Dave Chappelle was just assaulted on stage at his Hollywood Bowl show. He was finishing up his performance when a man ran on-stage and lunged at him knocking him to the floor. Security & his entourage then cornered the man as Dave joked about how him getting “stomped” backstage.
— Sharon Carpenter (@sharoncarpenter) May 4, 2022
When we got out of the Bowl and got our phones out, LAPD and medics were cordoning off the area and then loaded Chapelle’s attacker, who looked to be strapped in a jacket in a chair, into an ambulance. Members of the crowd cussed him out pic.twitter.com/qioX8aH5Vq
— Brianna Sacks (@bri_sacks) May 4, 2022
Someone just ran on stage and attacked Dave Chappelle 😮 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles #netflixisajokefest #netflixisajoke pic.twitter.com/0WMUPQ7ks4
— DoZay (@DoZay1) May 4, 2022