LOS ANGELES (NewsNation) — The LAPD said Wednesday it arrested the man who attacked comedian Dave Chappelle during a live performance at the Hollywood Bowl Tuesday evening.
The LAPD said Isaiah Lee, 23, has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon after he charged on staged and onto Chappelle with a gun-shaped knife as the comedian was about to exit the stage.
Police say Lee was armed with a replica gun that ejects a knife blade.
Video posted to social media shows security guards chasing and overpowering Lee, and Chappelle was able to continue his performance. After the attack, Lee was transported to a local hospital for injuries and to be evaluated.
Chappelle, who was performing as part of the “Netflix Is A Joke” festival, was not injured in the incident.
It wasn’t immediately clear what the suspect’s motive was. His bond was set at $30,000.
Comedians Kevin Hart and Chris Rock, who was slapped on stage by actor Will Smith at the Academy Awards ceremony in March, appeared alongside Chappelle shortly after the incident, according to footage circulating on social media.
Chappelle was no injured and joked about his attacker, saying “it was a trans man” afterward.
That joke was a nod to controversy surrounding Chappelle’s past comments, which sparked backlash in the transgender community against the comedian and Netflix, which aired the special.
During his set, Chappelle had actually joked about beefing up his personal security due to that controversy, but without physical barriers to prevent someone from storming on to a stage, the security balance can get tricky.
The incident raises new questions about stage security for high-profile celebrities but those in the industry say more security matters less than quality security.
“It’s instincts for them. They instantly catch on to that and they’re supposed to stop the threat before it reaches the performer,” Gabriel Zargari, an operations director at Omni Private Security, tells NewsNation’s “Rush Hour” Wednesday evening.
“When you really need them, one person who is trained to handle high-pressure situations and knows how to diffuse the situation is going to better than as many security as you hire,” he continued.
Lee is reportedly an aspiring rapper with a song that called “Dave Chappelle” that references the Hollywood Bowl.
He how he got through security with that dangerous weapon is still under review.
