Comedian Dave Chappelle has been attacked during a live show at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
The stand-up star was performing at the venue on Tuesday night as part of the Netflix Is A Joke festival when someone rushed the stage and launched himself at the comic during his set.
Actor Jamie Foxx helped apprehend the alleged attacker who was subsequently dragged off stage by security personnel before the performance continued, according to US reports.
“Whenever you’re in trouble, Jamie Foxx will show up in a sheriff’s hat,” Chappelle said at the show’s curtain call.
Los Angeles police told local station KABC that they responded to an incident at the venue at around 10:45 p.m. A man who was reportedly armed with a gun and a knife was taken into custody.
In another video of the aftermath of the incident, Chappelle can be heard joking that “It was a trans man.”
UK journalist Sharon Carpenter, who was at the show, shared her account on social media.
“Dave Chappelle was just assaulted on stage at his Hollywood Bowl show,” she said.
“He was finishing up his performance when a man ran on-stage and lunged at him knocking him to the floor. Security and his entourage then cornered the man as Dave joked about him getting ‘stomped’ backstage.”
BuzzFeed News reporter Brianna Sacks said Los Angeles police and fire department personnel loaded the man into an ambulance outside the venue.
A crowd can be heard booing the alleged attacker as he is carried into the back of the ambulance in another clip shared on Twitter.
British comic Jimmy Carr, who sparked outrage earlier this year for making a joke about the Holocaust in his own Netflix stand-up special, also performed at the streaming giant’s event on Tuesday.
He tweeted afterwards to say the show was “crazy” and he was “just happy everyone’s OK”.
A spokeswoman for the Hollywood Bowl said an investigation has been launched, telling the PA news agency: “The incident that occurred at the Hollywood Bowl on May 3 2022 is an active investigation and we are unable to comment further at this time.”
Chappelle has previously faced a backlash over comments about transgender people in his Netflix comedy special, The Closer.
The comic said “gender is a fact” and shared his backing for JK Rowling, who has also attracted criticism for her remarks about the concept of biological sex.
Netflix employees were said to have reacted with anger to his comments and reportedly organised a walkout over the streaming giant’s decision to air the special.
The incident follows Will Smith slapping Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars over a joke the comic made about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
It prompted members of the comedy community, including Jack Whitehall and Kathy Griffin, to voice their concerns that performers are no longer safe on stage.