Comedian Dave Chappelle has fled Perth in a private jet hours after his performance was abruptly interrupted mid-show when a wild brawl broke out in the crowd.
Fans have recalled how the controversial Emmy-winning stand-up comedian was performing at a packed RAC Arena on Thursday night when a commotion that involved yelling and swearing broke out in a top tier at the back of the venue.
No footage of the wild scenes has emerged as Chappelle has maintained a strict no-phones policy at his performances for at least six years.
It’s understood Chappelle was discussing how he was famously tackled on stage in LA’s Hollywood Bowl by an audience member almost a year ago when all hell broke loose.
Chappelle was spotted arriving at a Perth Airport private jet hangar early Friday morning following the drama-filled first concert 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 brawl in the crowd
He was casually dressed in a black singlet top, black pants and white sneakers.
Chappelle will perform two shows at Sydney Olympic Park this weekend, several days after he was seen meeting fans and taking selfies outside a Jamaican restaurant in inner-city Surry Hills.
Fans at Thursday night’s performance praised Chappelle on his professionalism.
‘Dave Chappelle showed me he is the GOAT in Perth tonight and an absolute professional. Shame some bogans in the crowd decided to have a fight half way through his set,’ one man tweeted.
‘I was most impressed with how quickly he got the crowd back.’
Many in the confused crowd were unsure whether the fight was real or part of Chappelle’s show.
‘About halfway through the set, there was a lot of yelling, swearing, and commotion coming from one of the top-tiers up the back,’ an attendee told The West Australian.
‘When he realised a fight had broken out, he cracked a joke about their crappy behaviour, before quickly moving on.
‘It was an awesome show and luckily wasn’t ruined by the brawl. Dave Chappelle and the arena staff handled it really well.’
Dave Chappelle (pictured at Perth Airport on Friday) will perform two shows in Sydney
It’s understood it took 10 minutes for security guards to break up the melee.
Chappelle will also do two shows in Melbourne next weekend before heading to Brisbane, followed by Auckland.
Tickets to his Sydney shows at Qudos Bank Arena start from $188.
Chapelle has previously explained the reasons behind his strict no-phone policy.
‘So I knew that anything I said in the room I was saying to everybody whether they were in the room or not, which is not an empowering feeling as a comedian,’ he told US talk show Jimmy Kimmel in 2017.
‘It’s like Fight Club rules apply. What I’m saying to you is I’d rather just keep it in the room.
‘The other thing is, comedians need the element of surprise so if someone sees the joke that I’m doing before I get to that city then I got to do all new jokes and I couldn’t write fast enough.
‘I say a lot of crazy s***, It’s not malicious but there you go.’
The controversial comedian (pictured) has a no-phones policy at his performances
Chappelle sparked widespread backlash in 2021 for material in his Netflix comedy special ‘The Closer’ that some in the LGBTQ+ community said ridiculed transgender people.
His supporters viewed it as a cry against cancel culture.
The special even spurred a response from transgender star Caitlyn Jenner, who also defended the comedian for his comments.
In the special, Chappelle joked women view trans women the same way black people might view white women wearing blackface.
He also said women are entitled to feel anger toward trans women, since Jenner won Glamour magazine’s 2015 Woman of the Year award.
‘I’d be mad as s*** if I was a woman,’ Chappelle sarcastically said in one bit that had been deemed problematic.
Us comedian Dave Chappelle is currently touring Australia and New Zealand
