The comedian Dave Chappelle was tackled on stage as he performed in Los Angeles, according to witnesses and videos from the episode early Wednesday.
It wasn’t immediately clear what prompted the man to rush onto the stage at the Hollywood Bowl. Images circulating on social media appeared to show the person attacking Mr Chappelle while he was performing. It is not clear if the comedian was injured.
According to Brianna Sacks, a BuzzFeed News reporter who was on the show, several guards punched and kicked the man. wrote about the attack on Twitter† Ms Sacks wrote that police officers and firefighters later loaded the man into an ambulance. Video shown later the elbow of the unknown man at an odd angle.
The tackle took place just as his performance was coming to an end. Ms Sacks wrote that actor Jamie Foxx took the stage after Mr Chappelle, 48, was tackled, looking “absolutely shocked”, and that musicians Mos Def and Talib Kweli performed as Los Angeles Police Department vehicles behind the stage. arrived.
Representatives from the Hollywood Bowl and the Los Angeles Police Department were not immediately available for comment. A spokesman for Mr Chappelle did not immediately respond to an email asking for comment.
Tuesday night’s show was titled “Netflix Is a Joke Presents: Dave Chappelle and Friends”. The venue said on its website that the show would be a “phone-free experience” and visitors should keep their phones in specially designed pouches.
Farshad Dehbozorgi, 34, a lawyer who was on the show, said someone jumped onstage and “practically tried to tackle” the comedian. “And then they struggled and struggled and everyone got a little bit involved,” he said in a phone interview Wednesday morning.
“Everyone was shocked,” added Mr Dehbozorgi. “No one could believe what was going on.”
Chappelle seemed to handle the chaotic moment well, said Mr. Dehbozorgi, adding that the comedian returned to the stage and the venue did not make any safety announcements.