It’s hard to believe that we have been binge watching Netflix on steroids for almost 9 months due to the pandemic. We might even have thought that we ran out of things to watch and just then, we had the Comedy Central series, Chappelle’s Show, and we were loving it. It is interesting, however, that Dave Chappelle was not in approval of the series being shown on Comedy Central, because he wasn’t paid a dime for it. He was upset enough that he even spoke out on Saturday Night Live when he recently gave the monologue and he is taking things to the next level.
If you haven’t seen Unforgiven yet, it is a video that was posted on Instagram. In that video, Chappelle admits that he has a deal for standup specials with Netflix, but he is asking the streaming service to take Chappelle’s Show down. It’s a real blow to those of us who enjoy watching something funny on occasion, but it’s a good thing for this comedian who seems to have gotten shafted by ViacomCBS. As a result of that request, Netflix removed the show and now, it is nowhere to be found on that streaming service. You can still watch it on CBS and Comedy Central, but the licensing is different from what you find on Netflix.
Comic Dave Chappelle kicks off First Ave run by kicking at Cosby and Trump. https://t.co/x12B9yDSPu pic.twitter.com/VUn1ITIhJU
— Star Tribune (@StarTribune) June 1, 2016
Chappelle speaks out in the video, saying, “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.”
He goes on to compare the fact that they are streaming his work and not giving him compensation with fencing stolen goods. He reached out to his fans, saying he is not going to go to the agents, he’s going to the people, and he considers them to be his ‘real boss’. In the end, he’s asking people to boycott his show unless they pay him.