American comedian Dave Chappelle was attacked on stage during a performance at a major event in Hollywood.
Chappelle, one of the most popular stand-ups across the Atlantic, was doing a set at the Netflix is a Joke event at the Hollywood Bowl when the incident happened. Eyewitnesses said a man rushed on stage and tackled the 48-year-old.
After a bit of a tussle, the attacker is said to have dashed off backstage where he was "surrounded by security". After the incident, friends and fellow comedians came back on stage to offer some form of comfort to him.
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Among them was Chris Rock, who took the chance to have another laugh at the incident between him and Will Smith at the Oscars, when the latter slapped the comic for making a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett-Smith. Referring to the slap, Chris quipped: "Was that Will Smith?"
Earlier this year, Dave - who has appeared in several Hollywood films including A Star is Born, The Nutty Professor and You've Got Mail - was criticised for his views on transgender people which formed part of his routine in a recent Netflix stand up special. It is not clear whether this was the reason behind the attack.
Tweeting about last night's incident, ABE news journalist Stephanie Wash said: "Dave Chappelle was rushed and attacked on stage by a man at the Hollywood Bowl. Chappelle tussled with the man, who ran behind the screen on stage and was surrounded by security.
"Chris Rock, who performed earlier, came on stage with him and joked: "Was that Will Smith?" #Netflixisajokefest."
Another person who was at the festival wrote: "Dave Chappelle knows how to handle his business. dude jumped on stage and tackled him but then got jumped by 20 other foos. Wild brawl on stage [sic]."
And a third festival goer added: "Seeing Dave Chappelle get attacked by somebody from the audience then seeing the dude get jumped by Dave Chappelle and his crew gotta be the wildest live show I've ever seen. Chris Rock even came on stage, embraced Dave, grabbed the mic and said: "Will was that you?!"
