Dave Chappelle 2022 Hollywood Bowl Attacker Sues Venue, Security For Alleged Battery And Negligence

Dave Chappelle's attacker in 2022 is taking legal action over the whole debacle two years after the incident, according to a report.

According to the legal documents obtained by TMZ, Chappelle's attacker, identified as Isaiah Lee, is suing the 2022 Hollywood Bowl venue and its security for negligent security and battery. Lee tackled the American comedian and actor onstage to protest against his jokes.

In his filing, Lee, who identifies as bisexual and someone who experienced homelessness, claimed that the venue's security team brutally beat him. They also allegedly spat on him and dislocated his elbow purposefully. Additionally, they allegedly allowed Chappelle's entourage to whoop on him.

During the beating, Lee's knife, which looked like a gun, fell out of his pocket, and he used it on Chappelle. Fortunately, the comedian wasn't injured and even managed to continue with his performance.

Lee added that the venue was aware of the comedian's inclination to share offensive jokes and should have taken action to prevent it, including those presumably targeted at transgender people. He claimed that he suffered from back injuries, loss of mobility and a dislocated elbow following the debacle.

Chappelle is not among the defendants since Lee is only after the Bowl. He previously took a plea deal in Chappelle's case and pleaded no contest to a pair of misdemeanors for entering a restricted area during the live event and battery. He was sentenced to 270 days in jail.

At the time, in an unrelated case, Lee was charged with attempted murder in his roommate Dijon Washington's stabbing at a transitional housing facility. According to the county prosecutor's office, the attack had been reported to the police at the time of the confrontation with Chappelle.

"The publicity generated by the attack on Mr. Chappelle helped police solve this crime," said District Attorney George Gascón in December 2022, per NBC Los Angeles. "The incident that occurred at the Hollywood Bowl was misdemeanor conduct and rightfully referred to the City Attorney's Office. Based on the nature and severity of the December attack, Mr. Lee is now facing felony charges, which my office will prosecute."

Chappelle spoke about the attack two nights after it happened when he took the stage at a secret comedy show in Los Angeles. According to him, he couldn't see the man's face, but he felt the grip of his hair, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

After the incident, his son reportedly hugged him and told him, "Dad, I love you." He joked that it was a strange sight of Jamie Foxx wearing "a sheriff's hat" that calmed him down. He also said many people reached out to check on him after the attack.

"A lot of people love me, it turns out," he said.

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