Netflix Is A Joke Comedy Festival
Comedian Chapelle is attacked on stage – Chris Rock jokes about Will Smith
Dave Chappelle during his controversial show “The Closer”.
© Netflix/Mathieu Bitton
The audience caught their breath for a moment: During a performance at the “Netflix Is A Joke” festival, the controversial comedian Dave Chappelle was attacked by an unknown person. The attacker was carrying a replica firearm with a folding blade.
The US comedian Dave Chappelle, who has often been criticized as transphobic, was attacked on the open stage by a man with an imitation of a gun. According to videos posted online, a spectator climbed onto the stage at a stand-up comedy event in Los Angeles on Tuesday night and threw Chappelle to the ground. According to the police, the attacker was overpowered by security guards and taken to the hospital, Chappelle was unharmed.
First had the trade journal “Hollywood Reporters” reported about the incident at the comedy festival “Netflix Is A Joke”. The video recordings showed how, at the end of Chappelle’s performance, a spectator came on stage and outlined the comedian. The attacker then ran behind a screen on the stage and was overpowered by security personnel.
The Los Angeles police confirmed the incident to the AFP news agency. The attacker therefore had an imitation of a firearm with him, from which a blade can be folded out. It was unclear whether the attacker actually tried to use the weapon.
Dave Chappelle was unharmed
The man was later carried away on a stretcher. Police spokeswoman Lizeth Lomeli said he was taken to hospital for treatment. The 48-year-old Chappelle was therefore unharmed.
Chappelle had come under criticism a while ago for making fun of transgender people. In an episode of Netflix show The Closer, he defended himself against allegations of transphobia and said gender was a “fact”. He called his critics too “sensitive”.
The African-American comedian also pointed out that there have been improvements for sexual minorities in a few years that black people have not achieved in decades. Chappelle’s comments made waves.
In March, an attack on the open stage caused a stir at the Oscars. US actor Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock after he joked about Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair loss.
Chris Rock was also present at Tuesday night’s event. After Chappelle’s attack, Rock joined him on stage and, according to multiple media outlets, joked, “Was that Will Smith?”