Why Netflix Removed The Chappelle Show
Early in November, fans of Dave Chappelle’s legendary sketch show were beyond excited when Netflix put all of the show’s seasons up on it’s streaming service unannounced. However, those fans were disappointed just a few weeks later, when Netflix removed the show from their platform. The removal was at the request of Chappelle, who is currently in a dispute with Viacom CBS, the parent company who initially signed Chappelle for the program. In a stand-up set that Chappelle posted directly to Instagram, as he has done multiple times in the past few months, Chappelle candidly explained his side of the story. Chappelle alleges that Viacom’s contract prevented him from earning any royalties from the show, while also allowing for the company to license his work without his consent. Chappelle explains that when he made his dramatic departure from the show after being offered millions of dollars to stay with the network, he never got paid for anything beyond the initial signing bonus from Viacom. While this was in the initial terms of the contract, Chappelle simply wanted to make a statement that such corporate ownership of artists and their work is morally wrong. Chappelle cited Netflix’s straightforwardness and cooperation as an example of how networks should treat those whose art they benefit from. He signed a 100 million dollar deal with Netflix 3 years ago.
Further in the short clip, Chappelle literally asks his fans to boycott the show, even if it does get released to another platform, until he gets paid for his work. Chappelle was not clearly against Viacom continuing to have rights to the show, and towards the end of the set he actually asked them to work with him. However, he did say that if they would not, then he would just “take it”. Viacom has not issued a public statement on the matter, but it appears the attention Dave has garnered with this clip will make it difficult for them to remain silent. Dave Chappelle certainly does not need the money, but appears to be taking this action in order to illuminate the ways that major networks often exploit the artists beneath them. Therefore, if Chappelle succeeds in his efforts, the implications for artists signed to major networks in the future could be important in balancing the power between artist and network. As this story progresses, we may provide an update or edit this post to cover future developments.
