Chappelle Show Removed By Netflix At The Request Of The Comedian

Chappelle Show has remained one of my favorte sketch comedy shows of all time. With the recent inclusion on Netflix, I was ready to jump back in and enjoy the series that once dominated the pop culture discussion. However, Netflix has pulled the series at the request of Dave Chappelle after a ViacomCBS licensed his Comedy Central series, Chappelle’s Show, without giving him a cut of the profit.

In a video, titled Unforgiven, which was posted on Instagram this morning, Chappelle explains that he asked Netflix, where he has a deal for the rights to host his stand-up specials, to take Chappelle’s Show, which the streamer had licensed on a non-exclusive basis, off the subscription-based service.

In Chappelle’s Unforgiven video, he stated,

“People think I made a lot of money from Chappelle’s Show,”

“When I left that show I never got paid. 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. 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. That’s why I fuck with Netflix. Because they paid me my money, they do what they say they’re going to do, and they went above and beyond what you could expect from a businessman. They did something just because they thought that I might think that they were wrong. And I do — I think that if you are fucking streaming that show you’re fencing stolen goods.”

“So I’m not going to the agents, I’m coming to my real boss — I’m coming to you. I’m begging you — if you ever liked me, if you ever think there was anything worthwhile about me, I’m begging you, please don’t watch that show. I’m not asking you to boycott any network — boycott me. Boycott Chappelle’s Show. Do not watch it unless they pay me.”