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Comedian Dave Chappelle was rushed and tackled on stage while performing at the Hollywood Bowl

Cheryl Teh   

Comedian Dave Chappelle was rushed and tackled on stage while performing at the Hollywood Bowl
International2 min read
  • Comedian Dave Chappelle was seen being tackled on stage at the Hollywood Bowl.
  • Videos from the event showed what appeared to be a man ramming into Chappelle during his set.

Comedian Dave Chappelle was rushed and tackled on stage while performing at the Hollywood Bowl on Tuesday night.

The incident occurred during the "Dave Chappelle and Friends" show, which is part of the "Netflix is a Joke" comedy festival.

In a video taken at the event, a person dressed in black is seen running on the stage and ramming the comedian.

ABC journalist Stephanie Wash tweeted that Chappelle was "rushed and attacked," after which a tussle ensued.

Wash added that comedian Chris Rock — who was slapped by actor Will Smith at the Academy Awards in March — later came back on stage with Chapelle and joked: "Was that Will Smith?"

Los Angeles ABC affiliate KABC received confirmation from the Los Angeles Police Department that the police responded to an incident at the Hollywood Bowl at around 10.45 p.m., where an armed man with a gun and a knife was taken into custody.

The Los Angeles Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider on the incident. However, a video from BuzzFeed journalist Brianna Sacks showed a person being placed onto what appeared to be a stretcher and loaded onto an ambulance.

"Just came out of the Hollywood Bowl where a man charged and tackled Dave Chapelle on stage and got his ass kicked by at least 10 people," Sacks tweeted. "LAPD and LAFD are now loading him into an ambulance."

Sacks, who was at the scene, reported that Chappelle had just said on-stage that he had hired more security because of his jokes about trans people when a man "hopped onto stage and ran at Chappelle, form-tackling him to the ground."

"Security et al rushed and started punching and kicking the shit out of Chappelle's attacker," Sacks tweeted.

Other videos of the incident appeared to show an individual with their arm in a cast being propped up by first responders.

Chappelle was heard joking after the incident that "it was a trans man" who tackled him, though it is unclear if the individual behind the attack was indeed a trans person.

"I thought that was part of the show," Chappelle was heard saying in closing comments on stage at the Hollywood Bowl, joking that the person's "hair was spongy."

The comedian also said he "just stomped" the attacker backstage.

Chappelle is known for his controversial remarks on transgender individuals.

In his Netflix special "The Closer," Chappelle defended JK Rowling over her comments on trans-exclusionary radical feminists (TERFs), describing himself as being on "Team TERF." He has also been criticized for his jokes about trans people.

Representatives for Chappelle did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.

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