Clay Travis on Chappelle attack: 'This is what comedians have been afraid of'
OutKick founder reacts to the comedian being attacked on stage by an audience member while performing at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
Comedian Dave Chappelle was attacked during a show in Los Angeles Tuesday night after a man reportedly jumped on stage. The alleged attacker was injured in the attack and was carried away in an ambulance, according to reports.
Videos of the incident appear to show the man jumping onto the stage at the Hollywood Bowl, where Chappelle was performing his standup routine for his Netflix Is A Joke tour, when he attempted to tackle the comedian.
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He was swiftly taken away by security and other individuals, who appeared to repeatedly hit the man just off-stage, videos appear to show.
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Dave Chappelle looks visibly upset as he is seen leaving his performance at the Hollywood Bowl after being attacked on stage. (BACKGRID)
Immediately following the attack, Chappelle remained on stage and thanked security, before joking about the incident and describing the individual who attacked him as a "trans man."
Chappelle makes several jokes about the trans community in his standup routine and even boasted during Tuesday night’s performance that he has been recently forced to increase his security amid new threats.
A man attends a rally in support of the Netflix transgender employee walkout to protest the streaming of Dave Chappelle's comedy special, in Los Angeles, California, Oct. 20 2021. (Reuters/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo)
Another video appeared to show the attacker being carted away by paramedics, with a crowd of people booing and cussing at him. Several police and emergency response vehicles could be seen at the venue in various videos.
At least one individual who was armed with a gun and knife was taken into custody, following the attack, police said.
LAPD confirm to KABC they responded to an incident at the Hollywood Bowl around 10:45 p.m., and a man who was reportedly armed with a gun and a knife was taken into custody. #netflixisajokefest #DaveChappelle
— Stephanie Wash (@WashNews) May 4, 2022
Dave Chappelle: The Closer (Mathieu Bitton/Netflix)
The attack reportedly happened as Chappelle was ending his show. Chapelle thanked actor Jamie Foxx and rapper Busta Rhymes for coming to his rescue, joking "whenever you're in trouble Jamie Foxx will show up in a sheriff's hat." Fellow comedian Chris Rock appeared on stage and said "Was that Will Smith?" The crowd roared at the reference to Rock's on stage attack from Smith at the Oscars earlier this year.
After the incident, Smith returned to his seat and was allowed to participate in the rest of the Oscars, even walking onto the stage later in the ceremony to receive an award.
Days later, Smith announced his resignation from the Academy, and he was subsequently banned from attending Academy-sponsored events for ten years.
"My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful and inexcusable," Smith said in a statement.
After the ban was announced, Smith released another statement saying: "I accept and respect the Academy’s decision
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Dave Chappelle: The Closer (Mathieu Bitton/Netflix)
Chappelle will continue his tour later this month on the East Coast.
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