Everything we know about Dave Chappelle getting attacked on stage at gig

The man who allegedly attacked Dave Chappelle on-stage was left bloody and bruised and with a twisted arm after being apprehended.

Dave Chappelle’s attacker has been identified and charged after storming the Hollywood Bowl stage with a knife in a replica handgun.

Cops in Los Angeles have identified the suspect as Isaiah Lee, 23, who is being charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon, according to The Sun.

Lee was taken to the hospital before he was booked early Wednesday into jail on $30,000 (AU$42,105) bail, the Los Angeles Police Department said.

The incident unfolded at the Netflix is a Joke Festival at the Hollywood Bowl in LA on Tuesday evening.

LAPD officials said Lee was armed with a replica gun that ejects a knife.

Isaiah Lee in a photo from social media.

Shocking video footage shows Chappelle, 48, standing on stage as the audience member charges and slams him to the floor. Seconds later, the attacker is tackled and surrounded by security.

Lee was booked into jail on US$30,000 (AU$42,105) bail, authorities said.

He was listed at 178cm and 64kg. An address given for him matched that of an LA homeless shelter.

It was unclear if Lee had tried to use the alleged weapon, which can eject a knife blade “when you discharge it correctly,” police told NBC Los Angeles.

It was also unclear how he managed to get it into the venue, which forces audience members to go through metal detectors and was even supposed to have a ban on mobile phones for the show.

Dave Chappelle's attacker is seen swollen bruised and cuffed to a stretcher. Picture: Roger/BACKGRID

Lee was first hospitalised after security pounced on him, with video showing his arm twisted and apparently snapped as he was booed while being led to an ambulance while strapped to an upright gurney.

He also appeared to have a puffed-up, bloody right eye as well as a bloody nose as he was carted out wearing a T-shirt with “Hollywood” written in flames akin to the logo for skateboarding mag Thrasher.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” one member of the crowd called out, as another yelled, “They beat your ass!”

Footage also showed Chappelle joking about how he “stomped a n—a backstage” after the attack.

Actor Jamie Foxx helped apprehend the alleged attacker.

In footage shared online, Foxx later told the crowd Chappelle is an “absolute genius”, adding: “We’ve got to make sure we protect him at all times… For every comedian who comes out here, this means everything. You’re a genius. You’re a legend, and we’re not going to let nothing happen to you.”

Chris Rock reacts with Will Smith joke

After Chapelle got attacked, Chris Rock came on stage and hit us with possibly the joke of the year “was that Will Smith?” pic.twitter.com/ldWQ3h0eln

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) May 4, 2022

Funnyman Chris Rock was also on-stage and cracked a joke asking if the attacker was Will Smith following the incident at LA’s Hollywood Bowl on Tuesday night.

Smith slapped Rock during the Oscars ceremony in March after the comic referenced Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head.

Chappelle then continued his performance, saying that he had an “incredible time” at the event.

The controversial comic sparked outrage for his remarks in his Netflix special The Closer which was released in October 2021.

He made derogatory comments about trans women’s genitalia and defended Harry Potter author JK Rowling – who has made numerous controversial remarks about trans people – and said she shouldn’t be “cancelled,” along with rapper DaBaby.

Witnesses took to Twitter to speculate following the incident.

The security “rushed and started punching and kicking the s**t out of Chapelle’s attacker,” tweeted Buzzfeed News reporter Brianna Sacks, who attended the gig.

“Chapelle kept on while the guy was getting beat in the back,” she said.

Dave Chappelle joked about how he “stomped a n**** backstage”. (Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Netflix)

“The comedian had literally just said he now has more security because of all the uproar from his jokes about the trans community,” she said — explaining why Chappelle’s first quip after the attacker was that it must be “a trans man.”

Smith’s slap — and the heightened threat felt by comedians — was also part of Chappelle’s set before his own scare, Sacks said.

“What is really surreal about this is that Chapelle talked about Chris Rock and the slap/new reality facing comedians/having more security with him and his wife being worried about him now,” she said.

“He did a whole bit about a crazy man coming to his house and chasing him down in his car,” she said.

Chappelle was performing at the Netflix is A Joke festival – an event that’s being held in LA until May 8.

The attack came just weeks after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock during the Oscars ceremony.

Smith struck Rock after the stand-up comic, 57, referenced Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head, saying: “Jada, I love you, G. I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see it.”

Pinkett Smith, who first revealed she suffered from hair loss condition alopecia in 2018, rolled her eyes at the joke and looked upset before Smith went on stage and hit Rock.

Chappelle achieved fame in the 1990s for his film and television appearances, as well as for his stand-up comedy routines. From 2003 to 2006, he starred in his own titular sketch comedy program on Comedy Central.

In addition to his Netflix specials, the comic also had roles in You’ve Got Mail, Undercover Brother, A Star is Born, and Chi-Raq.

— with The Sun, New York Post