Ex-NFL player Marcellus Wiley witnessed Dave Chappelle’s attack

Former NFL defenseman Marcellus Wiley said he witnessed the “insane” attack on comedian Dave Chappelle, which took place Tuesday night during Netflix’s Is a Joke: The Festival at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.

“Yeah I was in the building man and it was crazy to be there,” Wiley told TMZ. “A lot of stars in the building but the moment it happened was crazy because it was time to go. Dave left the stage and came back for an encore.”

The incident happened towards the end of Chappelle’s performance when a man, identified as 23-year-old Isaiah Lee, rushed onto the stage and knocked the 48-year-old comedian to the ground. Lee had a “knife blade” and a “replica pistol” during the attack and is in custody.

“Well, I’ll say he missed his moment too because he missed that tackle,” said Wiley, a second-round draft pick who played 10 NFL seasons with the Bills, Cowboys, Chargers and Jaguars. “As a former football player, he could have been hit a lot cleaner, but he’s not a former linebacker. But he attacked Dave, and the next thing the guy gets up and runs, thinking he’s Barry Sanders.

“And boy, that’s when security started to work. About 50 people – including Dave, Jamie Foxx – they just saw everyone chasing that guy around in the back corner. It took about three to five minutes for the guy to finally get out of there. It was a lot of elbowing, a lot of stomping and a lot of people upset at that moment.”

Wiley, who is an analyst at Fox Sports, couldn’t believe what happened next.

“The craziest moment was actually funny; it’s when Chris [Rock] ran back on stage and grabbed the mic and said, ‘Was that Will Smith?'” he said. “At that moment I was like, ‘Yo, that’s crazy.’ Then I was like, ‘Yo, this is Will Smith stuff.’”

Last month, Smith punched and yelled at Rock on stage at the Oscars 2022 and was later banned from the awards show by the Academy for 10 years.

“You foos better stay offstage and take these jokes or it won’t be a laugh,” Wiley wrote on Instagram. “I was there (Tuesday) night and the guy became the ultimate deterrent when he got kicked. 👏🏿 No more standing ovations and applause or sympathy when you do something unusual like (Will Smith) did at the Oscars. And please have the real and raw jokes ready (Dave Chappelle).

A Chappelle representative released a statement to CNN, saying, “As unfortunate and disturbing as the incident was, Chappelle went on with the show. Jamie Foxx and Chris Rock helped calm the crowd with humor before Chappelle introduced the last and presented musical guests for the evening.”

Lee, who is charged with the assault with a deadly weapon, was briefly hospitalized for injuries he sustained during the incident. He was later sent to jail on $30,000 bail, police said.