dave chappelle

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

Netflix has taken Chappelle’s Show off its streaming library less than a month after it debuted on the service. Dave Chappelle personally asked Netflix — who he has a deal with for standup specials — to take it down, as he wasn’t getting any compensation from ViacomCBS who licensed the series to the streaming service.

If you watched Chappelle’s SNL monologue earlier this month, he brought up that he wasn’t getting paid for Netflix or HBO Max streaming Chappelle’s Show, and today he released an 18-minute clip titled “Unforgiven” from a clearly recent standup show, where he talked about it. “People think I made a lot of money from Chappelle’s Show,” Chappelle says. “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.”

He goes on to talk about corporations, contracts, agents, and Prince before saying, “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.”

You can watch the full video below.

As of now Chappelle’s Show is still streaming on HBO Max, along with ViacomCBS’s CBS All Access and Comedy Central streaming platforms.