Chappelle doesn’t want his show on the service until he receives the money he’s owed.
A few months ago, Netflix added Chappelle’s Show to their streaming catalog. The 2003 sketch comedy series created and hosted by comedian Dave Chappelle was a mainstay of Comedy Central during the early 2000s, and seeing as how Chappelle already has several standup specials on Netflix, it would make sense to consolidate his content in one place. However, as Chappelle himself has divulged, due to the wording of his old Comedy Central contract, he himself is not being paid for any money his show generates, and he won’t stand for it.
In a standup clip Chappelle posted to his Instagram on Tuesday, he explained the contract he signed prior to quitting Chappelle’s Show. In layman’s terms, while he himself would no longer profit from reruns of the show, whoever held the license to it, be it Comedy Central or someone else, still would.
“I signed the contract the way a 28-year-old expectant father that was broke signs a contract,” he explained. “I was desperate and needed a way out. And it wasn’t good money and it wasn’t good circumstances but, ‘what else am I gonna do?’ I said.”
“People think I made a lot of money from ‘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?” Chappelle asked the audience. “I found out that these people were streaming my work. And they never had to ask me and they never had to tell me. Perfectly legal, because I signed the contract. But is that right?”
Chappelle then divulged his frustration upon hearing that Netflix was streaming his show. In his frustration, he called Netflix and requested they remove the show from their service, which they complied with. Chappelle then pleaded with his audience to refrain from streaming any episodes of Chappelle’s Show until he receives proper remuneration for them.
“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,” Chappelle said. “I’m not asking you to boycott any network. Boycott me. Boycott ‘Chappelle’s Show.’ Do not watch it unless they pay me.”