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Dave Chappelle refuses to let Tuesday night’s physical attack “overshadow the magic” of his four performances, a representative for the comedian told Fox News Digital Wednesday.
“Dave Chappelle celebrated four nights of comedy and music, setting record-breaking sales for a comedian at the Hollywood Bowl,” his representative said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital. “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.
“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. Other special comedic guests last night included Earthquake, Leslie Jones, Jeff Ross, Sebastian, Jon Stewart and Michelle Wolf.”
The rep confirmed that Chappelle is fully cooperating with police as the investigation continues.
A man with a swollen and bruised face is cuffed to a stretcher as he is taken to a hospital. This happened during Chappelle’s “Netflix is a Joke” festival. (Roger/BACKGRID)
The suspect in Chappelle’s onstage attack was arrested Tuesday around 10:50 p.m. after he allegedly stormed the stage and tackled the comedian. He was subsequently charged with assault with a deadly weapon, the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed to Fox News Digital Wednesday.
Isaiah Lee, 23, was carrying a replica gun with a knife blade inside when he attacked Chappelle during the Hollywood Bowl show, police say. Authorities describe him as a Black male with black hair and brown eyes, who stands 5 feet, 11 inches tall and weighs about 140 pounds. The suspect, who lives in the Los Angeles area, is being held on $30,000 bail.
Chappelle was performing as part of his “Netflix is a Joke” tour when he was attacked.
Dave Chappelle looks visibly upset as he is seen leaving his performance at the Hollywood Bowl after being attacked on stage. (BACKGRID)
Chappelle was attacked by an audience member during Tuesday night’s performance of “Netflix is a Joke.” (BACKGRID)
Videos of the incident showed Lee jumping on stage and tackling Chappelle. The suspect was injured and taken from the venue in an ambulance.
COMEDIAN DAVE CHAPPELLE ATTACKED ON STAGE WHILE PERFORMING AT HOLLYWOOD BOWL IN LOS ANGELES
He was swiftly taken away by security and other individuals, who repeatedly hit the man just off stage, videos appear to show.
A spokesperson for Netflix told Fox News Digital: “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.”
Immediately following the attack, Chappelle remained on stage and thanked security, before joking about the incident and describing the person who attacked him as a “trans man.”
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The suspect in Chappelle’s attack Tuesday night was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon, according to LAPD. (Michael Tran/FilmMagic)
Chappelle makes several jokes about the trans community in his standup routine and even boasted during Tuesday night’s performance that he has been recently forced to increase his security amid new threats.
The attack took place toward the end of Chappelle’s stand-up routine. The comedian thanked both Busta Rhymes and Jamie Foxx for helping out following the attack.
“Whenever you’re in trouble, Jamie Foxx will show up in a sheriff’s hat,” he told the audience.
Chappelle was helped by Jamie Foxx, Busta Rhymes and Chris Rock following the incident.
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Comedian Chris Rock, who was slapped in the face by Will Smith while onstage at the Oscars, also appeared on the stage. After Chappelle was attacked onstage, Rock joked, “Was that Will Smith?”
Fox News’ Lawrence Richard contributed to this report.
