Dave Chappelle’s show is returning to Netflix on February 12, the comedian revealed. He also talked about his negotiations with Comedy Central and thanked Netflix boss Ted Sarandos for supporting him.
At the end of a presentation held at Stubbs in Austin, entitled “Redemption Song”, posted on Chappelle’s Instagram page on Thursday, it was revealed that “Chappelle’s Show” would return to Netflix on February 12. The show was removed from the streamer at his request in November, at the request of the comedian.
The issue was a dispute over a contract that Chappelle had with ViacomCBS, owner of Comedy Central, which he claimed allowed the company to license the series without his agreement and also prevented him from receiving royalties.
Referring to that incident, Chappelle said in the Instagram clip: “I never asked Comedy Central for anything. If you remember, I said, ‘I’m going to talk to my real boss’ and I went to you [the audience] because I know where my power is. “
“I asked you to stop watching the show and thank God Almighty for you, you did,” said Chappelle. “You made that program useless because without your eyes it’s nothing. And you stopped watching it. They called me and I got my name and got my license back and got my program back and they paid me millions of dollars.”
“This is a very important moment,” continued Chappelle. “I want to thank Ted Sarandos of Netflix, a CEO with the courage to showcase my platform [at] financial loss for your company, just because I asked him. “
“And I want to thank Chris McCarthy of CBS Viacom. This guy is younger than me. And, like most people younger than me, he’s interested in fixing the past and he did something that was very brave. And, finally, after all these years, I can finally say that Comedy Central was a pleasure to do business with. “
The comedian also spoke about his recent fight against the coronavirus. “There was a faction of people, the cowards, who said, ‘Look, Dave Chappelle, that’s why we stay indoors where it’s safe and never try anything.’ Well, have fun, motherfucker —– s, because I’m better now, “said Chappelle.