Netflix removes ‘Chappelle’s Show’ from platform at Dave Chappelle’s request
FILE - Comedian Dave Chappelle campaigns for Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang on January 30, 2020 in North Charleston, South Carolina. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
“Chappelle’s Show” will no longer stream on Netflix at the request of the show’s star, Dave Chappelle.
The comedian, who made a wildly successful comeback after partnering with Netflix, shared a video on his Instagram account Tuesday of one of his standup shows, titled “Unforgiven,” where he explained the ordeal.
After speaking about the dangers of entering into a contract that was not in his best interest, Chappelle spoke about his experience with Netflix.
“People think I made a lot of money for ‘Chappelle’s Show.’ When I left that show, I never got paid. They 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 had to tell me. Perfectly legal because I signed the contract. But is that right?”
Chappelle’s question was met with a collective loud “no” from the audience.
“I didn’t think so either. That’s why I like working for Netflix. I like working for Netflix because when all of 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 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,” Chappelle said.
RELATED: Dave Chappelle donating proceeds from Milwaukee shows to families of Miller Brewery shooting victims
“That’s why I (expletive) with Netflix because they pay me my money, they do what they say they’re going to do and they went above and beyond which you could expect from a businessman, they did something just because they thought that I might think that they were wrong. And I do. If you are streaming that show, you’re fencing stolen goods,” Chappelle said, to applause.
Chappelle does not own the show which uses his name. “Chappelle’s Show” is owned by Comedy Central, which is owned by ViacomCBS.
The streaming service, which has had a four-year relationship with the comedian, confirmed that it “honored a request from Dave” and removed the show from its platform as of Monday.
“We are his creative home for comedy,” according to a Netflix spokesperson.
Netflix stated that it has no insight into the deal-makings between “Chappelle’s Show” and ViacomCBS, but noted in an emailed correspondence that “Dave Chappelle was a creator, executive producer, and star of the show that carries his name.”
“Chappelle’s Show” started streaming on Netflix on Nov. 1 and was only available in the United States before it was removed, according to Netflix.