This afternoon, Dave Chappelle posted a lengthy clip of a recent stand-up gig of his on IGTV. He titled the post “Unforgiven” and wrote in the caption, “This is why.” In the video, he spoke candidly about his disapproval of “Chappelle’s Show” being licensed to streaming services due to him never being paid after leaving the ViacomCBS-owned show.
“Chappelle’s Show” ran for three seasons on ViacomCBS from 2003 to 2006. Currently, the sketch-comedy show is available to stream on CBS All Access, HBO Max, and up until now, was available on Netflix for three weeks.
Even though he signed a contract with ViacomCBS and understands they were not legally bound to pay him, Chappelle says in the video about the company, “I found out that these people (ViacomCBS) 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 then goes on to speak about why he favors Netflix and continues to work for them. Netflix removed “Chappelle’s Show” after Chappelle requested them to. Chappelle has several of his specials streaming on Netflix, including “The Age of Spin,” “Equanimity and the Bird Revelation,” and “Sticks and Stones.”
He says in the video, “And when I found out they (Netflix) 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.”
Chappelle pleads for his fan-base, who he calls his “real boss,” to boycott the show. He says, “I’m not asking you to boycott any network. Boycott me. Boycott ‘Chappelle’s Show.’ Do not watch it unless they pay me.” Watch his 18 minute video that includes newly released material on the next page.
