Dave Chappelle was assaulted at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl during his set at the Netflix Is a Joke festival on Tuesday (May 3). In light of the incident, several musicians have reacted with concern on social media.
Madonna, who was in attendance and had an all-access pass to the event, shared he feelings on the matter via Instagram. “Last Night was Strange……….And disturbing for so many reasons! The World is upside down,” she captioned an Instagram post of her showing off a laminated backstage pass with “Team Chappelle” written on it.
50 Cent, on the other hand, criticized venue security in his posts. “What the f— kinda security missed that? That punk tried to get dave, LOL,” he wrote, adding, “look at this fools head, LOL I bet that’s the last time he gonna try to run on stage.”
In social media footage from the event, a man was seen storming the stage and tackling the comedian before security apprehended him and dragged him off the stage.
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According to to NBC News Los Angeles, LAPD confirmed that Chappelle’s attacker was armed with a replica gun “that can eject a knife blade,” though it was unclear if he tried using the weapon during the attack. The Associated Press reported that the suspect, a 23-year-old man named Isaiah Lee, has been arrested for assault with a deadly weapon.
Chappelle did not sustain any injuries and was unshaken enough to continue with his set, joking, “It was a trans man,” a reference to the controversy surrounding jokes in his Netflix specials that are perceived to be transphobic.
See how musicians are reacting to the attack on Chappelle and images of Lee injured after he was stopped by security below.
— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) May 4, 2022