Chappelle thanked his fans for not broadcasting “Chappelle’s Show” while he fought ViacomCBS to get paid.
Charles Sykes / Invision / AP
In a 10-minute stand-up set posted on Instagram titled “Redemption Song” (watch the video on the embed below), comedian Dave Chappelle confirmed that “Chappelle’s Show” is back on Netflix on Friday, 12 of February. The comedian settled his fight with Comedy Central’s parent comedy ViacomCBS for a streaming license for the iconic comedy series, which lasted three seasons at Comedy Central between 2003 and 2006. Chappelle took her Netflix show in November and released a statement criticizing ViacomCBS for licensing “Chappelle’s Show” to Netflix without paying him.
“People think I made a lot of money from ‘Chappelle’s Show’,” said Chappelle at the time. “When I left that program, I was never paid. [ViacomCBS] you didn’t have to pay me because I signed the contract. But is that right? I found that these people were broadcasting my work and never had to ask me or never had to tell me. Perfectly legal because I signed the contract. But is that right? I didn’t think so either. “
The comedian urged his fans to boycott his show on streaming platforms. “I am going for you. I’m begging you – if you ever liked me, if you ever thought there was anything worthwhile about me, I’m begging you, please don’t watch this program, ”said Chappelle. “I’m not asking you to boycott any networks – boycott me. Boycott the ‘Chappelle show’. Don’t watch unless they pay me. “
Less than a month later, Chappelle withdrew the series from HBO Max for similar reasons. Now it looks like Chappelle has resolved her fight with ViacomCBS as the show returns to streaming. In “Redemption Song”, Chappelle thanks Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos for his “courage” in allowing the show to be removed from the platform in November and ViacomCBS Chris McCarthy for “making the past correct”.
“I never asked Comedy Central for anything,” said Chappelle in the new video. “If you remember, I said, ‘I’m going to look for my real boss’, and I came to look for him because I know where my power is. I asked you to stop watching the show and thank God Almighty for you, you stopped. You did that worthless show because without your eyes, it’s nothing. And when you stopped watching, they called me. And I got my name back. And I got my license back, and my program back, and they paid me millions of dollars. Thank you very much.”
Watch “Redemption Song” in full in the video below. “Chappelle’s Show” is now being streamed on Netflix.
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