Everything ended well, and Dave Chappelle was not injured. The American comedian was attacked on stage in the middle of a show in Los Angeles on Tuesday evening. The 23-year-old suspect was charged with “assault with a lethal weapon” and his bond set at $30,000. The motive was not known at midday Wednesday.
Los Angeles police say the assailant was carrying a dummy gun fitted with a knife blade. It was not immediately clear if he attempted to use it on the comedian.
“Was it Will Smith?” »
According to images published by the people site TMZ, the attacker managed to get on stage, ran into Dave Chappelle and then tackled him. Security guards then chased him and appear to have knocked him to the ground. In a photo published by TMZ, the suspect has a swollen face and his elbow is visibly dislocated.
The actor, who participated in the Netflix Is A Joke festival, organized at the Hollywood Bowl, was able to continue his show. “He was a trans man,” he quipped, referring to his recurring transphobic jokes which are regularly controversial – Netflix workers walked off the job last fall to protest Chappelle’s latest show, but the streaming giant defended the comedian.
In the end, it was Chris Rock – appearing a little earlier at the festival – who made the best joke. Going on stage after the incident, he launched, about the aggressor: “Was it Will Smith? »