Scroll To Top
News

Bisexual Dave Chappelle attacker suing the venue for negligence

Bisexual Dave Chappelle attacker suing the venue for negligence

dave chappelle attacker sues venue
Netflix

Can we really blame him for what he did?

@andrewjstillman

These days, if we were in the presence of certain transphobes like Dave Chappelle, we’d either distance ourselves like Bowen Yang or pull an Isaiah Lee and go full-on attack mode.

As to the latter, now-25-year-old Lee did what we all wish we could do back in 2022 when he attacked Chappelle on stage. Video from the event shows Lee, then 23, as he tackles an unsuspecting Chappelle and knocks him over before security guards come to his rescue.

While Chappelle was uninjured, a fake gun and real knife fell out of Lee’s pocket, though he claimed he never intended to use it on the comedian. Following the event, he told the New York Post, “I identify as bisexual … and I wanted him to know what he said was triggering. I wanted him to know that next time, he should consider first running his material by people it could affect.”

The attack in question occurred during the May 3, 2022, “Netflix is a Joke” show at the Hollywood Bowl, where Lee had initially gone to enjoy himself before Chappelle started to joke about his prior controversies with people in the LGBTQ+ community. This was also exacerbated by Chappelle's comments in his 2021 Netflix special, The Closer.

Chappelle also further solidified himself as a transphobe when he followed up the attack, saying, “It was a trans man.”

After two years in custody, where he took a plea deal that sentenced him to 270 days in jail, Lee was recently released. Now, TMZ reports that he is suing the venue and all associated security for “allowing” everything to unfold.

In the suit, according to the legal docs, Lee alleges that the venue’s security team “brutally beat him after he tackled Chappelle,” and that they also “spit” on him and “dislocated his elbow purposefully.”

According to the report, Lee’s suing for “negligent security and battery” and claims that he’s suffered loss of mobility in his elbow and sustained back injuries on top of other medical issues.

They also noted that Lee is only going after the Bowl, not Chappelle himself. Other names in the lawsuit include the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation, and the hired security from the event.

According to ABC7, Lee has been ordered to stay away from Chappelle, nor can he possess or be around anywhere that has alcohol. He must also pay restitution in an as-yet-determined amount.

The Advocates with Sonia BaghdadyOut / Advocate Magazine - Jonathan Groff and Wayne Brady

From our Sponsors

Most Popular

Latest Stories

author avatar

Andrew J. Stillman

Contributing Writer for Pride.com

Andrew J. Stillman is a freelance writer and yoga instructor exploring the world. Check him out at andrewjstillman.com or follow him @andrewjstillman on all the things.

Andrew J. Stillman is a freelance writer and yoga instructor exploring the world. Check him out at andrewjstillman.com or follow him @andrewjstillman on all the things.