Man accused of tackling comic Dave Chappelle on stage is charged with assault

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On May 5, 2022, comedian Dave Chappelle was attacked while he was on the stage doing a comedy show.

Life is stranger than fiction.

The attacker was holding a knife shaped as a gun. That’s just weird. Who shapes a knife as a gun?

Then Chris Rock shows up onstage and makes a joke about Will Smith.

A Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson said the suspect had in his possession a replica handgun containing a knife blade when he attacked Chappelle.

A short time after the assault, Chappelle was joined onstage by fellow comic Chris Rock, who took the microphone and quipped, “Was that Will Smith?” - a reference to his own experience of being slapped by the Hollywood star during the live Oscars telecast on March 27.

Later, Chappelle talked to the guy who was upset about his grandmother losing her home due to gentrification and was trying to draw attention to that.

The comedian said that he asked Lee what provoked his attack, after which Lee – who Chappelle said appeared to him to be mentally ill – told him a story about his grandmother from Brooklyn, who had been forced to leave her neighbourhood because of gentrification.

Chappelle said that, as far as he understood it, the attack was meant to draw attention to her hardship.

Dave Chappelle Tackled, Slammed on Stage at Hollywood Bowl by Man with Gun | TMZ