LOS ANGELES — An audience member rushed the stage and physically attacked comedian Dave Chappelle in the middle of his performance Tuesday night.
NPR's Emma Bowman was at the Hollywood Bowl event, and confirmed security staff chased the attacker until they detained him off stage. The attacker was later escorted from the venue on a stretcher and appeared to have injuries to his arm and face.
Chappelle appeared unharmed. The comedian appeared to lose his composure momentarily, and later joked: "That was a trans man," a call back to earlier words in his set that suggested he felt attacked by transgender people, and past material that has been criticized as transphobic.
In October, Chappelle faced controversy over his 2021 Netflix special The Closer. In the special, Chappelle jokes about trans women and their genitalia and defends J.K. Rowling against critics who say she is transphobic and more.
The altercation also follows a similar incident, in which actor Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock for a joke Rock told about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, on the Oscars stage in March.
Earlier in his set, which was part of the Netflix Is A Joke festival, Chappelle discussed "the slap 'heard round the world," and said he resonated with both Smith's and Rock's actions.
Rock, who had a brief set earlier in the show, came back on stage and joked, "Was that Will Smith?"
After an investigation, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences banned Smith from all its events, virtually or in person, for 10 years.
