The attack on Chappelle comes less than two months after Chris Rock was slapped by Will Smith during the 2022 Oscars.
Chris Rock delivered some comedic relief after fellow comedian Dave Chappelle faced a shocking attack.
On Tuesday night at Los Angeles' Hollywood Bowl, Chappelle was attacked onstage as he performed as part of the Netflix Is A Joke Festival. Los Angeles police confirmed to ET that a suspect jumped onstage, attacked a "famous comedian" they declined to name and allegedly pointed a handgun replica at him. Police further confirmed the replica had a knife blade, but it's unclear if the person attempted to use the blade.
Citing Los Angeles police, NBC Los Angeles reported that the attacker was taken to the hospital with "superficial injuries" while Chappelle and officers were not injured.
Police confirmed to ET that the suspect -- identified as 23-year-old Isaiah Lee -- was detained, booked on $30,000 bail and initially charged with assault with a deadly weapon. This charge was later reduced to a misdemeanor.
An eyewitness recalled to ET that Chappelle had begun his set and the audience was having a great time. The eyewitness said they saw a man walking toward the stage and climb up, but that it did not seem like anyone paid attention until the man was completely on the stage. While the eyewitness initially thought the man was a staff member or part of the show, in a split second, he charged Chappelle. According to the eyewitness, the comedian did a good job of dodging the actual tackle. The eyewitness noted that, before anyone could understand what was happening, security came and quickly grabbed the attacker and everyone in the audience was in shock.
According to a source, it was "chaos onstage and emotions were running high." Chapelle and Jamie Foxx stepped into the scrum with the security to tackle the attacker, the source shared. "Jamie Foxx said he saw a gun and stepped in to help the security," the source told ET.
"Chapelle was hit in the ribs," the source said. "It all happened so quickly, and he was in shock, but handled it like a pro. He was running on adrenaline."
The eyewitness explained that Rock and Chappelle quickly hugged while security was taking the attacker offstage. At the time, Rock had a microphone in his hand, went up to Chapelle and asked him, "Was that Will Smith?" -- a reference to being slapped by the Oscar winner during the 2022 Oscars after making a joke about wife Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head.
According to a source, "Chris was not onstage when the attack occurred," but happened to be returning to the stage for a post-event photo op during the aftermath of the attack. "Once he realized what all the commotion was about, he immediately went over to check on Chapelle," the source told ET, "and then without skipping a beat, made the Will Smith joke." Per the source, Rock was escorted offstage immediately following the incident and did not attend the after-party.
After the attack, Chappelle said onstage, "I've been doing this 35 years -- I just stomped a n***a backstage. Always wanted to do that."
In part of a statement, Chappelle's rep said that he "celebrated four nights of comedy and music, setting record-breaking sales for a comedian at the Hollywood Bowl. This run ties Chappelle with Monty Python for the most headlined shows by any comedian at the Hollywood Bowl, reaching 70k fans of diverse backgrounds during the first Netflix Is A Joke: The Festival, and he refuses to allow last night’s incident to overshadow the magic of this historic moment." According to the rep, the comedian is "fully cooperating with the active police investigation into this incident."
Per the source, there are major concerns among the performers about how this could have happened. It was shocking to learn that the attacker made it into the venue with the weapon, the source noted, and was able to make it onstage and have unobstructed access to Chappelle.
Meanwhile, a Netflix spokesperson said in a statement, "We care deeply about the safety of creators and we strongly defend the right of stand-up comedians to perform on stage without fear of violence." ET has learned that Netflix is actively discussing the security protocols for future events, and that security for the Netflix is a Joke Festival is handled by the venues.
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