American comedian Dave Chappelle was forced to stop mid-show during an Australian tour after a wild fight broke out among ‘bogans’ in the audience
- Crowd scrum at the first show of the comedian’s Australian tour
- Spotted leaving Perth to perform two shows in Sydney
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Comedian Dave Chappelle fled Perth on a private jet hours after his performance was abruptly cut short mid-show when a wild fight broke out in the crowd.
Fans recalled how the controversial Emmy-winning stand-up comedian was performing in a packed RAC Arena on Thursday night when a commotion involving shouting and swearing broke out in an upper floor at the back of the venue.
No footage of the wild scenes has emerged as Chappelle maintained a strict no-phone policy during his performances for at least six years.
Chappelle is understood to be talking about how he was tackled on stage in the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles by an audience member almost a year ago when all hell broke loose.
Chappelle was spotted arriving at a private jet hangar at Perth Airport early Friday morning after the dramatic first gig of his Australian tour.
Dave Chappelle was pictured leaving Perth on Friday morning, hours after the first show of his Australian tour was marred by a wild fight in the crowd
He was dressed casually in a black tank top, black pants and white sneakers.
Chappelle will perform two shows at Sydney’s Olympic Park this weekend, days after he was seen meeting fans and taking selfies outside a Jamaican restaurant in downtown Surry Hills.
Fans of Thursday night’s performance praised Chappelle for his professionalism.
‘Dave Chappelle showed me he is the GOAT in Perth tonight and an absolute professional. Too bad some bogans in the crowd decided to fight halfway through his set,’ one man tweeted.
“I was very impressed with how quickly he brought the crowd back.”
Many in the confused crowd were unsure if the fight was real or part of Chappelle’s show.
“About halfway through the set there was a lot of shouting, swearing and commotion coming from one of the upper levels at the back,” one attendee told The West Australian.
“When he realized a fight had broken out, he made a joke about their shitty behavior, before quickly moving on.
“It was an awesome show and luckily it wasn’t spoiled by the fight. Dave Chappelle and the arena staff handled the situation very well.
Dave Chappelle (pictured at Perth Airport on Friday) will perform two shows in Sydney
It is understood that it took security guards 10 minutes to break up the melee.
Chappelle will also do two shows in Melbourne next weekend before heading to Brisbane, followed by Auckland.
Tickets for his Sydney shows at Qudos Bank Arena start from $188.
Chapelle previously explained the reasons for her strict no-phone policy.
“So I knew that whatever I was saying in the room, I was saying it to everybody, whether they were in the room or not, which is not a stimulating feeling as a comedian,” he said. he told American talk show Jimmy Kimmel in 2017.
“It’s like Fight Club rules apply. What I’m telling you is that I prefer to keep it in the room.
“The other thing is that comedians need an element of surprise, so if anyone sees the joke I do before I get to this town, I have to do all the new jokes and I couldn’t write fast enough.
“I say a lot of crazy bullshit, it’s not malicious but there you go.”
The controversial comedian (pictured) has a no-phone policy during his performances
Chappelle sparked widespread backlash in 2021 for material from his Netflix comedy special “The Closer” that some members of the LGBTQ+ community said ridiculed transgender people.
His supporters saw it as a cry against cancel culture.
The special even prompted a response from transgender star Caitlyn Jenner, who also defended the comedian for his comments.
In the special, Chappelle joked that women see trans women the same way black people might see white women wearing black faces.
He also said women have a right to feel angry towards trans women, ever since Jenner won Glamor magazine’s 2015 Woman of the Year award.
“I would be crazy as fuck if I were a woman,” Chappelle sarcastically said in a passage that had been deemed problematic.
American comedian Dave Chappelle is currently touring Australia and New Zealand
