Dave Chappelle's attacker sues the venue where it happened | Isaiah Lee claims he was roughed up after storming the stage with a knife

Dave Chappelle's attacker sues the venue where it happened

Isaiah Lee claims he was roughed up after storming the stage with a knife

The man who attacked Dave Chappelle on stage is suing the venue where it happened.

Isaiah Lee claims the Hollywood Bowl security team beat him up, and allowed Chappelle’s entourage to do the same.

He claims the venue knew about Dave's reputation for telling offensive jokes, and should have taken action to prevent any ‘potential harm’ those gags might have caused.

The claims come two years after Lee stormed the stage at the Netflix Is A Joke festival, later saying he was triggered by the comic’s material about trans people and the homeless.

Lee  – who was carrying a fake gun that disguised a knife – tackled the comedian to the ground before being dragged off by security. He was later driven away from the Los Angeles venue in an ambulance. 

Gossip website TMZ, which obtained the legal papers, says 25-year-old Lee claims to be suffering from back injuries, loss of mobility and a dislocated elbow in the aftermath of the 2022 incident. 

Lee plead no contest to two misdemeanours, earning him a 270-day  jail sentence. 

Thanks for reading. If you find Chortle’s coverage of the comedy scene useful or interesting, please consider supporting us with a monthly or one-off ko-fi donation.
Any money you contribute will directly fund more reviews, interviews and features – the sort of in-depth coverage that is increasingly difficult to fund from ever-squeezed advertising income, but which we think the UK’s vibrant comedy scene deserves.

Published: 4 May 2024

We see you are using AdBlocker software. Chortle relies on advertisers to fund this website so it’s free for you, so we would ask that you disable it for this site. Our ads are non-intrusive and relevant. Help keep Chortle viable.