An 89-year-old entertainer, who’s been dubbed ‘the world’s oldest working female comedian,’ was viciously sucker-punched in a random attack in Greenwich Village.
Last Wednesday, D’yan Forest was walking to her gym around 9 am, when a female stranger came up to her and struck her in the face on the corner of Seventh Avenue South and West 11th Street.
The force of the violent blow caused Forest, who has performed alongside Jerry Seinfeld and Joan Rivers, to fall to the ground, and shortly after, the assailant fled the scene.
‘I’m just standing at the corner waiting to cross with the light,’ Forest, who will turn 90 next month, told the New York Post.
D’yan Forest, who’s been dubbed ‘the world’s oldest working female comedian,’ was viciously sucker-punched in a random attack in Greenwich Village
According to authorities, the suspect, who remains at large, was last spotted wearing a white tank top with a Jurassic Park logo on the front
‘I’m smiling and I’m happy, I had my coffee. And all of a sudden, a huge wallop hit my eye.’
Forest was stunned by how powerful the strike was.
‘I didn’t know what it was. It could’ve been a lamppost, it hit me that hard. So I fell down.’
Before the unknown woman attacked Forest, she stomped a homeless person, according to the comedian.
After the assailant brutally struck the 89-year-old, she stood over her and scowled at her victim, who tried with great difficulty to see out of her injured eye.
‘I looked at a woman in front of me and I thought she was going to come help me up because I’m lying on the ground in shock,’ Forest told the Post.
‘She gave a scowling look at me and then ran right ahead. So I guess she was the perpetrator,’ the comedian continued.
According to the NYPD, the assailant then fled the scene, hurrying west on Bank Street.
At this time, the suspect still remains at large.
Right after she’d been punched, Forest immediately started to worry about how her injury might affect her 90th birthday show, which is scheduled for July 29 at Joe’s Pub in NoHo.
‘The first thing that came [over me was], Oh my God, my show, my show!’ she said. She added: ‘I don’t want to have a missing eye!’
‘Afterwards, people came over to help me up,’ Forest said to the Post.
‘I couldn’t see out of my left eye, and I was petrified in shock. And I kept saying to them, “Is my eye still there?”‘
Right after she’d been punched, Forest immediately started to worry about how her injury might affect her 90th birthday show
Fortunately, the comedian’s eye was intact, but it was in bad shape.
From the scene of the incident, she was rushed to the hospital, where she spent a few hours recovering, before she left to attend a rehearsal for an upcoming performance.
I walked out, I did my rehearsal,’ the 89-year-old said.
‘Of course, my director said, “You look horrible.” Just what I need. Because I hadn’t really seen myself,’ she said.
By Thursday, the bruise on her eye was hardly conspicuous, but she explained that her blood vessels still need time to recover.
The attack, though, had psychological, as well as physical, consequences for the elderly comedian.
‘I [was] sort of shook and I didn’t want to talk about it for a couple of days,’ she said.
She initially felt ‘whatever it is, it’s my fault.’
Since the brutal assault, she has also become more circumspect and nervous when walking the streets that are familiar to her.
The attack had psychological, as well as physical, consequences for the elderly comedian
‘It’s a little crazy, Like, “Is that person going to reach up and hit me?”‘ she said.
If she had the opportunity to speak with NYC Mayor Eric Adams, she said she would beg him to solve the homeless-and-mental-health crisis that’s crushing the city.
‘I would say this is what is happening now…There are more homeless, mentally ill homeless on the street, and even in my precious Village.’
Forest, who has lived in the same building on West 10th Street since 1966, explained that what she’s witnessing now is an entirely new phenomenon.
‘This is what I’ve noticed this summer. Just get these people off the streets. Get them help… so 90-year-old old ladies won’t be socked!’
Forest’s sentiments echo those of many New Yorkers, who worry that violent and unprovoked crimes are ruining the city.
If she had the opportunity to speak with NYC Mayor Eric Adams, she said she would beg him to solve the homeless-and-mental-health crisis that’s crushing the city
Until this summer, the comedian had felt secure in her beloved New York City.
‘There’s been a lot of homeless sitting around in my area,’ she said, before adding, ‘this never happened.’
Forest was born near Boston in 1934 and started performing after her marriage failed in 1962. Later, she moved to Paris, where she began headlining cabaret clubs.
Her career has spanned half-a-century, and she has shared the stage with stars like Jim Gaffigan and Drew Barrymore.
Forest has also performed at such venerable venues as Saturday Night Live, France’s Got Talent, Comedy Central, and Joe’s Pub, according to Forbes.
Two years ago, when she was 87, the Guinness Book of World Records conferred on her the title of the ‘Oldest Working Female Comedian in the World.’
The 89-year-old comedian is now treating her attack with her signature brand of humor.
Two years ago, when she was 87, the Guinness Book of World Records conferred on her the title of the ‘Oldest Working Female Comedian in the World’
‘I’m getting better. I can joke about it,’ she told the Post. ‘I couldn’t joke about it a couple of days ago.’
‘Who knows, I could make a song about it. You never know,’ she said.
According to authorities, the suspect was last spotted wearing a white tank top with a Jurassic Park logo on the front.
Police ask that anyone with information about the suspect call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).
