American comedian Dave Chappelle was attacked by a person who ran at him while he performed a live show in Los Angeles last night.

The Chappelle Show star was recording a Netflix special at the Hollywood Bowl when a man charged the comic, who narrowly escaped being being tackled to the ground, Sky News reported.

People who were at the gig have shared details of the incident on social media.

BuzzFeed reporter Brianna Sacks said: “A man charged and tackled” Chappelle as the show was coming to a close.

In a series of tweets, Ms Sacks said the man who tackled Chappelle was ‘punched and kicked’ by security guards after the incident.

Meanwhile, a video on social media shows Mr Chappelle’s attacker, with a badly damaged arm, being loaded into an ambulance.

Another audience member posted a video after the incident which appeared to show Chappelle joking: “"It was a trans man" who attacked him.

It comes as the comedian has been criticised for jokes he made that offended members of the trans community as recently as last year.

US comedian Chris Rock, who was slapped by Will Smith at this year’s Oscars, also performed at last night’s show.

After Chappelle was tackled Rock came on stage and joked that the attacker was Will Smith.