Man who attacked Dave Chappelle at Hollywood Bowl sues site

The man who attacked comedian Dave Chappelle on stage two years ago has sued the Hollywood Bowl and its security team, alleging negligent security and battery.

Isaiah Lee, who pleaded no contest to charges related to the 2022 incident and was sentenced to prison because of it, alleged in a civil lawsuit that security guards employed at the Dave event venue Chappelle and Friends had pulled Lee off Chappelle and started beating him. mercilessly, spitting on him and intentionally dislocating his arm.

In a complaint filed Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, exactly two years after the incident, the 25-year-old, who identifies as bisexual and has experienced homelessness, said he tackled Chappelle after the star of The Dreamer unleashed a barrage of homophobic and transphobic jokes. and joked about homelessness during the inaugural Netflix Is a Joke comedy festival. The complaint, obtained Monday by The Times, says Lee was upset by the discriminatory nature of the comedians' jokes and rushed on stage in protest at the end of the show.

Instead of intervening to protect Lee, [the defendants] allowed members of the comedian's entourage, encouraged by the comedian, to beat Lee, according to the lawsuit. The complaint also said a knife fell from Lee's pocket well after the altercation began and its presence did not justify the force used against him.

Jonathan D. Evans, Lees' lawyer, argued that the Hollywood Bowl and Doe's unidentified security companies were aware of Chappelle's history of making offensive jokes targeting the LGBTQ+ community, as well as his propensity to making discriminatory remarks, but took no action to prevent or mitigate the potential harm caused by such offensive material. The incendiary comic, who is not listed as a defendant in Lees' lawsuit, made headlines months before the incident due to jokes he made in his 2021 Netflix special, The Closer, which led to the walkout of the streaming giant's employees and widespread criticism of Travail des Chappelle.

We cannot comment on ongoing legal matters, a Hollywood Bowl spokesperson said in a statement to The Times on Monday. However, the safety and security of our audiences and artists is of the utmost importance to the Hollywood Bowl. Safety procedures are updated regularly to provide the safest possible environment for those attending and performing at the Bowl.

A spokesperson for Chappelle did not immediately respond Monday to The Times' request for comment.

Any company the Bowl may contract with for security reasons could not be reached for comment due to lack of identification.

Lee's attack occurred just months after Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock on live television at the 94th Academy Awards, and onstage violence was one of many issues surrounding the performers live at the time.

According to previous reports, Lee emerged from the Bowl audience on May 3, 2022 and appeared to lower his head and charge at Chappelle, knocking down the Emmy-winning actor. Lee then fled to the back of the stage, where he was apprehended by security and suffered minor injuries. Chappelle, who was not injured, later joked about Lee, the incident and how events unfolded.

Lee pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor battery charge and a charge of entering a restricted area during a live event and was sentenced in December 2022 to nearly nine months in county jail. He has served his sentence and is currently in a transitional living center, his lawyer confirmed to the Times on Monday.

In the lawsuit, Evans argued that the security company employed by the Bowl had a duty to exercise reasonable care in performing its security services and that it failed to perform them in a reasonable manner , which led to Lee's injuries.

Instead of detaining or arresting Lee using reasonable force or intervening to protect him from being beaten, the security company allowed members of the comedian's entourage, encouraged by the comedian, to beat Lee senseless , the complaint states. Employees of the security company joined in the beating and took no action to prevent the attack, the document states.

As a direct and proximate result of Defendants' foregoing conduct and omissions… [Lee] has been placed in great fear for his physical well-being, and has suffered and continues to suffer extreme mental and physical pain, suffering, anguish, fear, nervousness, anxiety, grief, shock, humiliation, indignity, embarrassment and apprehension, all because of his damages, the amount of which will be determined at trial, the complaint states.

The filing also states that Lee experienced great fear for his physical well-being, suffered and continues to suffer from extreme mental and physical pain, anxiety, humiliation and apprehension, among other problems. He has since suffered a significant loss of enjoyment of life and his injuries required immediate surgery, he added, and he cannot fully use his shoulder or engage in some physical activities he regularly engaged in. before the incident.

Lee is seeking judgment against the defendants in a jury trial, as well as an unspecified amount of damages, coverage of his medical and related expenses, legal fees and additional relief, the suit states.

He is not looking for a fixed amount. He just wants the security company or whoever beat him, twisted his arm and spat on him to answer for his excess, Evans said Monday in an email to The Times. He should have been arrested and taken into custody. That's it. What security officers did to him and what they allowed others to do to him goes beyond what is acceptable.