Dave Chappelle called on Netflix to remove Chappelle’s Show and the streamer agreed.
The comedian shared details about the conflict in an 18-minute video from a stand-up set he posted on Instagram Tuesday titled “Unforgiven.”
In the clip, Chappelle blasted the show’s owner, ViacomCBS, for licensing the sketch comedy series without sharing the revenue with him.
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Chappelle, 47, admitted he agreed to the contractual terms back when he was 28 and broke, but said the deal was not “right.” He explained that he recently went to his agent to try and settle the dispute quietly, but nothing happened. So he was “publicly flogging” Comedy Central and its parent company ViacomCBS.
“People think I made a lot of money from Chappelle’s Show,” he said in the video. “They [ViacomCBS] didn’t have to pay me because I signed the contract. But is that right? 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 ’cause I signed the contract. But is that right? I didn’t think so either.”
Chappelle went on to praise Netflix, where he currently has a lucrative contract. He said he called up the streaming giant to let them know he was not happy about them running the show and they agreed to remove it.
“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,” he said. “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.”
Netflix did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Chappelle also urged his fans to “boycott” Chappelle’s Show “unless they pay me.” The comedian co-created the series, which originally aired on Comedy Central from 2003 to 2006.
The iconic sketch show began streaming on Netflix and on WarnerMedia-owned HBO Max on Nov. 1.
Chappelle first went public with his concerns about the series hitting the streaming platforms when he hosted Saturday Night Live on Nov. 7.
While telling a story in his opening monologue about his great-grandfather — who was born a slave — Chappelle said his ancestor would be proud of him, except for the streaming deals.
“Netflix started streaming a show that bears his name, Chappelle’s Show. And HBO Max is streaming it, and I didn’t get paid for any of it,” Chappelle said. “Yeah, if he could see me now, he would probably be like, ‘this n—r got bought and sold more than I have.'”
While Chappelle’s Show is no longer on Netflix, it’s still available on HBO Max… for now.
