Dave Chappelle Shannon Finney/Getty Images
Dave Chappelle’s one-time attacker is now suing the Hollywood Bowl for allowing the comedian’s team to hurt him.
Isaiah Lee, the man who tackled Chappelle on stage at the Hollywood Bowl in 2022, is suing the venue — and its security team — for letting the attack happen in the first place, according to legal documents obtained by Us Weekly, Chappelle is not named as a defendant in the civil suit, which was filed on Friday, May 3, one year after the incident.
Lee, 25, tackled Chappelle to the ground at the Hollywood Bowl in December 2022 during the “Netflix Is a Joke” festival on May 3, 2022, while Chappelle was introducing another performer.
The lawsuit alleges that the security team hired for the venue, as well as Chappelle’s entourage, beat and spat on Lee after the attack, and purposefully dislocated his shoulder. According to the lawsuit, the Hollywood Bowl and its security had a responsibility to “exercise reasonable care” when dealing with a violent situation. The amount Lee is suing for will be determined at trial.
Standing behind him. After Dave Chappelle was attacked by an audience member while performing on stage at the Hollywood Bowl, many of his fellow comedians have shared their thoughts about what the incident means for performers moving forward. “Watching what happened to Dave last night confirmed my fear [of being assaulted],” Howie Mandel said during […]
“Lee did not consent to being beat and/or spit on, and a reasonable person in Plaintiff’s situation would have been offended by being beaten and spit on,” the lawsuit stated. The filing also claimed that Lee, who identifies as bisexual, tackled Chappelle “in an act of protest” against offensive jokes the comedian made throughout the night.
Isaiah Lee Body Cams+ /TMX/Mega
At the time Lee was arrested, he had on his person a replica gun that could eject a knife blade. In the court documents, he stated that the knife fell out of his pocket during the beating and he never planned to use it on the comedian.
“I identify as bisexual … and I wanted him to know what he said was triggering,” Lee told The New York Post following his arrest in May 2022. “I wanted him to know that next time, he should consider first running his material by people it could affect.”
Us confirmed at the time of the attack that Lee had been arrested by the LAPD and held on a $30,000 bail. NBC Los Angeles also reported that he was taken to a local hospital and treated for “superficial injuries.” In his New York Post interview, Lee alleged security personnel who detained him gave him two black eyes and broke his arm. “They spat on me and twisted me as if on purpose,” he said.
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One year later, Lee now claims in his lawsuit that the venue knew Chappelle made offensive jokes and should’ve been prepared for any incidents caused by those jokes. Instead, the Hollywood Bowl “took no measures to prevent or mitigate the potential harm caused by such offensive material.”
Court documents state that Lee suffered a “loss of mobility” and “life-altering” wounds following the incident, as well as “anguish, fright, nervousness, anxiety, grief, shock, humiliation, indignity” and “embarrassment.”
