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Dave Chappelle become the second high-profile comedian to be physically attacked on stage this year when a transgender activist invaded the stage during a set and tackled him on Tuesday.
Police have arrested the suspect, identified as Isaiah Lee, for assault with a deadly weapon after he pointed a fake gun which contained a knife at Chappelle.
Chappelle’s attack comes just weeks after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock live at the Oscars for making a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair loss condition.
Chappelle was in the middle of performing a set at the Netflix is a Joke comedy festival stage, in Hollywood, Los Angeles, when Lee hopped on stage and tackled him with full force.
Footage of the incident shows Chappelle struggling with Lee before security pulled him to the back of the stage.
Actor Jamie Foxx reportedly hopped on stage to protect Chappelle, while Chris Rock himself also came to Chappelle’s aid and joked “Was that Will Smith?”
“Whenever you are in trouble Jamie Foxx will show up in a Sheriff’s hat,” said Chappelle standing next to Jamie Foxx on stage after the incident.
“Just came out of the Hollywood Bowl where a man charged and tackled Dave Chappelle on stage and got his ass kicked by at least 10 people,” wrote one Twitter user.
“LAPD and LAFD are now loading him into an ambulance,” wrote another who had attended the comedy festival, sharing the video of the ambulance taking the suspect outside the Hollywood Bowl Arena.
23-year-old Lee is currently being held behind bars on a $30,000 (R474,744) bail, reported CBS news.
In October last year, a number of Netflix employees walked out of the company’s Los Angeles office to protest against Chappelle’s stand-up special in which he allegedly made transphobic jokes.
Video source: Twitter
