Netflix removes ‘Chappelle's Show’ at Dave Chappelle's request

It’s been 17 years since Dave Chappelle’s groundbreaking sketch series Chappelle’s Show debuted on Comedy Central and in a new video shared this week, Chappelle says that he still has not been properly compensated for the hugely successful series, which parent company Viacom is continuing to sell. Following Viacom’s latest deal, which included licensing Chappelle’s Show to Netflix and HBO Max, Chappelle posted an 18-minute clip to Instagram explaining to fans how he got a ‘raw’ deal when he signed with Comedy Central in 2003 and has now asked fans to boycott his show.On Tuesday, Chappelle uploaded a video titled ‘Unforgiven’ and gave the history of his hugely successful series, which ran for three seasons. Chappelle said that on the day it was announced he was returning to SNL to once again host the post-election show, Netflix and HBO Max announced they would begin streaming Chappelle’s Show. Chappelle referenced the sale during his SNL monologue, talking about his great-grandfather and saying “If he could see me now, he’d probably be like, ‘This n—- got bought and sold more than I have.’”[video_embed id='-1']RELATED: How to set up a Netflix Party on Google Chrome[/video_embed]In the video uploaded on November 24, Chappelle said he was a 28-year-old expectant father when he signed his deal with Comedy Central and needed money for his family. By signing the contract, Chappelle gave away his rights to the name of the show and his likeness, which means even if he wanted to bring the beloved series back now, he is legally unable to do so. As for Viacom’s deal with Netflix and HBO Max, Chappelle didn’t receive money from either platform because of his original contract.“But is that right,” asked Chappelle. “I found out that these people were streaming my work and they never had to ask me or they never have to tell me. Perfectly legal because I signed the contract. But is that right? I didn’t think so either.”Chappelle has released several standup specials with Netflix in the past four years and applauded the company this week for their reaction to his work being sold without any compensation for the comedian. “That’s why I like working for Netflix. I like working for Netflix because when all those bad things happened to me, that company didn’t even exist. And when I found out they were streaming Chappelle’s Show, I was furious. How could they not, how could they not know? So, you know what I did? I called them and I told them that this makes me feel bad. And you want to know what they did? They agreed that they would take it off their platform just so I could feel better,” said Chappelle.Netflix began streaming Chappelle’s Show on November 1 and has now removed the show from its platform. "That's why I f­­--- with Netflix," the comedian continued. "Because they paid me my money, they do what they say they're going to do and they went above and beyond what you can expect from a businessman. They did something just because they thought that I might think that they were wrong. I do, I think if you are f---ing streaming that show you're fencing stolen goods. They stole that from me. They just took it. I'm not up here trying to tell you guys that I believe that Comedy Central gave me a raw deal just because I'm Black, I believe they gave me a raw deal because this f---ing industry is a monster."

 

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Chappelle acknowledged in his latest standup that he was doing something that had never been done before by an entertainer by “publicly flogging a network.” After leaving Chappelle’s Show in 2006, the comedian said he was encouraged to take his show elsewhere. “That’s like a slave running away from one plantation to another plantation because the master over there might be nicer,” said Chappelle.The Emmy and Grammy winner also set his sights on HBO this week, whom he had originally pitched Chappelle’s Show to almost two decades before. Chappelle said that the response from his pitch was offensive and cruel. “These are executives. All they have to do is say ‘Yeah, we’ll take it’ or ‘No thank you, we won’t.’ But they didn’t say either of those things. They went too far. They said literally, ‘What do we need you for?’ That’s what they told me,” said Chappelle, noting that the very same company was now streaming the same show they passed on without paying Chappelle for his work.Chappelle said that he contacted his agent to see what steps could be taken to rectify the situation and was met with silence, forcing him to now turn to his real boss – the fans. “Boycott me,” Chappelle told the audience. “Boycott Chappelle’s Show. Do not watch it unless they pay me.”[video_embed id='2021405']BEFORE YOU GO: Woman films creepy doll moving on its own[/video_embed]