23-year-old Isaiah Lee has been arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon during Dave Chappelle’s performance at the Netflix is a Joke festival.
The attacker had reportedly pointed a replica handgun with a knife at the comedian and tackled him before members of the audience intervened.
At the same time, security and the police rushed to the stage to rescue the comedian. Lee was beaten up and then loaded onto a stretcher to be treated for his injuries.
Interestingly, during his set, Dave Chappelle had noted that he’d beefed up his security following Will Smith storming the stage during this year’s Oscars and slapping comedian Chris Rock for making an irreverent G.I Jane joke about his wife Jada Pinkett’s alopecia. For the assault, the Academy Awards had banned Will Smith from all its events for ten years.
In the case no of Dave Chappelle’s attacker, the LAPD confirmed his arrest and noted he had some injuries. Lee is currently in a slammer in Hollywood with a $30,000 bail bond.
With this incident, Dave Chappelle, infamous for his anti-trans rhetoric, joins the league of performers who have been attacked while performing on stage. And no, Chris Rock is not the first on that list.
