Comedian Dave Chappelle was attacked onstage during a show at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on Tuesday night.
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 fake gun containing a knife was taken into custody, according to The Associated Press.
“Dave Chappelle was just assaulted on stage at his Hollywood Bowl show. He was finishing up his performance when a man ran on-stage and lunged at him knocking him to the floor,” tweeted journalist Sharon Carpenter. “Security and his entourage then cornered the man as Dave joked about how 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:
In videos posted on social media, Chappelle can be heard joking, “It was a trans man.” In another clip, he joked that he’d “stomped” the man backstage.
Chappelle was performing at the “Netflix Is a Joke” comedy festival, which runs until Sunday and features big names, including Seth Rogen, Pete Davidson, Snoop Dogg and Bill Burr.
Chappelle was the subject of controversy earlier this year after he included transphobic material in his latest Netflix special, “The Closer.” Despite enormous backlash from LGBTQ groups and some Netflix employees, the streaming service did not pull the program. Chappelle also stood by his remarks.
A representative for Chappelle did not immediately return a request for comment about Tuesday night’s attack.
This story has been updated to note the suspect was reportedly carrying a fake gun.