Dave Chappelle’s popular sketch comedy series “Chappelle’s Show” has been removed from Netflix — at his request.
On Tuesday (Nov. 24), the comedian posted a lengthy Instagram video of footage from one of his recent stand-up acts. During the clip, he revealed that he “never got paid” from ViacomCBS after leaving the show. “They [ViacomCBS] didn’t have to pay me because I signed the contract,” he said. “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 continued. “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.”
The removal comes just three weeks after the show was added to the streaming giant. “Chappelle’s Show” first aired on Comedy Central back in 2003. In 2005, he quit the show due to stress and issues over creative control of the series.
“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,” he said. “I’m not asking you to boycott any network — boycott me. Boycott ‘Chappelle’s Show.’ Do not watch it unless they pay me.”
Chappelle recently helped “Saturday Night Live” accumulate their highest ratings in three years for his Nov. 7 hosting gig. According to Deadline, over 9.1 million people viewed the episode, which aired hours after Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were named as the projected president and vice president-elect. About 2.6 million people who were between the ages of 18 and 49 tuned in. “SNL” was the No. 1 entertainment telecast for that age group since the Academy Awards, which aired back in February.
Check out his full Instagram video below.