Dave Chapelle - Unforgiven (Don’t stream Chapelle Show Anymore!!!!)
- Thread starter JustChillin
- Start date
Netflix did the respectable thing but they are also doing what is in their best interest: keeping Dave happy. Content creators with a following like Dave are an endless revenue stream especially when you treat them right. He could literally decide to create another sketch comedy show and call it (insert whatever name besides the Chapelle Show) by Dave Chapelle and Netflix would have another hit. They could release the new episodes weekly just like Amazon did with The Boys. Not to mention the stand up specials. They showed him that they value him. A content creator/comedian like Dave on a digital platform like Netflix could bring big things in the future.
Honestly, if a platform like Only Fans was not so heavily associated IG models and porn, the direct payment from fans to an artist like Dave might be a real revenue generator. I believe those Prime Video channels cost like $4.99/month so a similar model could work for him.
Honestly, if a platform like Only Fans was not so heavily associated IG models and porn, the direct payment from fans to an artist like Dave might be a real revenue generator. I believe those Prime Video channels cost like $4.99/month so a similar model could work for him.
thats what I gathered from what he said.
I don’t think Dave or Comedy Central/Viacom expected the DVDs to hit like they did.
For Viacom to admit their wrongdoing is going to open so much other stuff from other artist.
am I the ONLY one who REALLY wants the know the name of the old comedian that STOLE a young Dave's condom joke?
I agree, and while it would have been nice to include Dave with some of this unexpected loot, it looks like they weren't contractually obligated to do so.
Why Dave Chappelle Got Netflix to Remove Chappelle’s Show
In a lengthy video posted to Instagram, the comic alleged his previous contract with Comedy Central left him without additional payments for future licensing deals signed by ViacomCBS. “When I left that show, I never got paid,” Chappelle said.
BY CHRISTOPHER ROSEN
NOVEMBER 24, 2020
Earlier this month, during an incendiary monologue on Saturday Night Live, Dave Chappelle talked about his great-grandfather, who was a slave until he was 10 years old. “I wish I could see him now and I wish he could see me. I wonder what he would say. This week I flew to New York on a private jet to host Saturday Night Live. Netflix started streaming a show that bears his name, Chappelle’s Show, and HBO Max is streaming it. And I didn’t get paid for any of it,” Chappelle said. “If he could see me now, he’d probably be like, ‘This n---a got bought and sold more than I have.’”
The joke drew some gasps from the show’s live audience, but it was nothing compared to the lengthy video Chappelle posted to Instagram on Tuesday where he condemned ViacomCBS for licensing his former series without allegedly compensating the comic for his work.
“Do you know why Prince—the famous rock star who was a friend of mine—do you know why he called himself The Artist when he came back? He calls himself The Artist because that’s what they call us in our contracts,” Chappelle said in the video, which was record during one of his recent stand-up comedy shows. “Oh, these contracts are crazy. You should hear the terminology they say in these contracts. ‘To use your name and likeness in perpetuity throughout the universe.’ Who the fuck could possibly know what that means? Nobody does.”
As Chappelle explained in the monologue, he initially signed a contract to host Chappelle’s Show on Comedy Central as a “28-year-old expectant father that was broke.”
“I was desperate, I needed a way out. It wasn’t good money, it wasn’t good circumstances, but what else am I going to do?” he asked.
According to the comic, he had previously approached HBO about the series but was turned down—a decision, Chappelle said in the video posted Tuesday, he was reminded of when HBO Max began streaming Chappelle’s Show this month through a licensing deal with ViacomCBS.
“Now, these are executives, all they have to do is say, Yeah we’ll take it,’ or, ‘No, thank you, we won’t,’” Chappelle said of meeting with HBO years prior. “They didn’t say either of those things, they went too far. They said, literally, ‘What do we need you for?’ That’s what they told me as they kicked me out of the office, ‘What do we need you for?’ And here we are all these years later and they’re streaming the very show I was pitching to them. So I’m asking them, what do you need me for?”
Representatives for HBO Max and WarnerMedia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Chappelle hosted his eponymous show for three seasons, but famously left after signing a huge $50 million extension with Comedy Central in 2005. After he exited Chappelle’s Show, however, Chappelle claimed he “never got paid.”
“They didn't have to pay me because I signed the contract. But is that right?” he asked. “I found out that these people were streaming my work and they never had to ask me or they never had to tell me. Perfectly legal because I signed the contract. But is that right?” As the crowd said it was not, Chappelle added, “I didn't think so either.”
Chappelle signed a major deal with Netflix in 2016, and has worked almost exclusively with the streaming platform in the years since. But according to the star, when he found out Netflix had also licensed Chappelle’s Show for its platform, he was left “furious.”
“So you know what I did? I called them and I told them that this makes me feel bad,” he explained. “And do you want to know what they did? They agreed that they would take it off their platform just so I could feel better. That’s why I fuck with Netflix. Because they paid me my money, they do what they say they're going to do, and they went above and beyond what you could expect from a businessman. They did something just because they thought that I might think that they were wrong. And I do. I think that if you are fucking streaming that show you’re fencing stolen goods. They stole that from me. They just took it.”
Chappelle’s Show is no longer streaming on Netflix after being added to the service earlier this month.
Though Chappelle feels Comedy Central signed him to a bad contract, he doesn’t think that was because of his race—but rather because of the industry itself. “I believe they gave me a raw deal because this fucking industry is a monster,” he said, with anger in his voice. “It’s the same monster that these #MeToo bitches was trying to tell you about. But they hate the monster for how it fucks, and I hate that monster for how it eats. But my god, man, it’s the same monster.”
As for why he never mounted a return to sketch comedy on television, Chappelle said he had many friends who urged him to do just that after Chappelle’s Show ended. “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he scoffed at the notion, “and why doesn't a slave run from one plantation to another plantation because the master over there might be nicer? My god, man, I was trapped. To tell you the truth, I’ve even thought about coming back and doing another Chappelle’s Show. Well, but if I do, I can’t call it Chappelle’s Show, because my name and likeness is being used by them in perpetuity throughout the universe. It’s in the contract.”
Chappelle concluded the video with a request for his fans. “I called my agent and I said, ‘Is there anything I could do about this show?’ And he said no. Well, fuck you too then,” Chappelle said. “If you want something done right, I guess you have to do it yourself. So I’m not going to my agents, I’m coming to my real boss. I’m coming to you. I’m begging you, please don’t watch that show. I’m not asking you to boycott any network—boycott me. Boycott Chappelle’s Show. Do not watch it unless they pay me.”
In addition to HBO Max, Chappelle’s Show is also available to stream via Comedy Central and CBS All Access, both of which are owned by ViacomCBS.
In a lengthy video posted to Instagram, the comic alleged his previous contract with Comedy Central left him without additional payments for future licensing deals signed by ViacomCBS. “When I left that show, I never got paid,” Chappelle said.
BY CHRISTOPHER ROSEN
NOVEMBER 24, 2020
Earlier this month, during an incendiary monologue on Saturday Night Live, Dave Chappelle talked about his great-grandfather, who was a slave until he was 10 years old. “I wish I could see him now and I wish he could see me. I wonder what he would say. This week I flew to New York on a private jet to host Saturday Night Live. Netflix started streaming a show that bears his name, Chappelle’s Show, and HBO Max is streaming it. And I didn’t get paid for any of it,” Chappelle said. “If he could see me now, he’d probably be like, ‘This n---a got bought and sold more than I have.’”
The joke drew some gasps from the show’s live audience, but it was nothing compared to the lengthy video Chappelle posted to Instagram on Tuesday where he condemned ViacomCBS for licensing his former series without allegedly compensating the comic for his work.
“Do you know why Prince—the famous rock star who was a friend of mine—do you know why he called himself The Artist when he came back? He calls himself The Artist because that’s what they call us in our contracts,” Chappelle said in the video, which was record during one of his recent stand-up comedy shows. “Oh, these contracts are crazy. You should hear the terminology they say in these contracts. ‘To use your name and likeness in perpetuity throughout the universe.’ Who the fuck could possibly know what that means? Nobody does.”
As Chappelle explained in the monologue, he initially signed a contract to host Chappelle’s Show on Comedy Central as a “28-year-old expectant father that was broke.”
“I was desperate, I needed a way out. It wasn’t good money, it wasn’t good circumstances, but what else am I going to do?” he asked.
According to the comic, he had previously approached HBO about the series but was turned down—a decision, Chappelle said in the video posted Tuesday, he was reminded of when HBO Max began streaming Chappelle’s Show this month through a licensing deal with ViacomCBS.
“Now, these are executives, all they have to do is say, Yeah we’ll take it,’ or, ‘No, thank you, we won’t,’” Chappelle said of meeting with HBO years prior. “They didn’t say either of those things, they went too far. They said, literally, ‘What do we need you for?’ That’s what they told me as they kicked me out of the office, ‘What do we need you for?’ And here we are all these years later and they’re streaming the very show I was pitching to them. So I’m asking them, what do you need me for?”
Representatives for HBO Max and WarnerMedia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Chappelle hosted his eponymous show for three seasons, but famously left after signing a huge $50 million extension with Comedy Central in 2005. After he exited Chappelle’s Show, however, Chappelle claimed he “never got paid.”
“They didn't have to pay me because I signed the contract. But is that right?” he asked. “I found out that these people were streaming my work and they never had to ask me or they never had to tell me. Perfectly legal because I signed the contract. But is that right?” As the crowd said it was not, Chappelle added, “I didn't think so either.”
Chappelle signed a major deal with Netflix in 2016, and has worked almost exclusively with the streaming platform in the years since. But according to the star, when he found out Netflix had also licensed Chappelle’s Show for its platform, he was left “furious.”
“So you know what I did? I called them and I told them that this makes me feel bad,” he explained. “And do you want to know what they did? They agreed that they would take it off their platform just so I could feel better. That’s why I fuck with Netflix. Because they paid me my money, they do what they say they're going to do, and they went above and beyond what you could expect from a businessman. They did something just because they thought that I might think that they were wrong. And I do. I think that if you are fucking streaming that show you’re fencing stolen goods. They stole that from me. They just took it.”
Chappelle’s Show is no longer streaming on Netflix after being added to the service earlier this month.
Though Chappelle feels Comedy Central signed him to a bad contract, he doesn’t think that was because of his race—but rather because of the industry itself. “I believe they gave me a raw deal because this fucking industry is a monster,” he said, with anger in his voice. “It’s the same monster that these #MeToo bitches was trying to tell you about. But they hate the monster for how it fucks, and I hate that monster for how it eats. But my god, man, it’s the same monster.”
As for why he never mounted a return to sketch comedy on television, Chappelle said he had many friends who urged him to do just that after Chappelle’s Show ended. “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he scoffed at the notion, “and why doesn't a slave run from one plantation to another plantation because the master over there might be nicer? My god, man, I was trapped. To tell you the truth, I’ve even thought about coming back and doing another Chappelle’s Show. Well, but if I do, I can’t call it Chappelle’s Show, because my name and likeness is being used by them in perpetuity throughout the universe. It’s in the contract.”
Chappelle concluded the video with a request for his fans. “I called my agent and I said, ‘Is there anything I could do about this show?’ And he said no. Well, fuck you too then,” Chappelle said. “If you want something done right, I guess you have to do it yourself. So I’m not going to my agents, I’m coming to my real boss. I’m coming to you. I’m begging you, please don’t watch that show. I’m not asking you to boycott any network—boycott me. Boycott Chappelle’s Show. Do not watch it unless they pay me.”
In addition to HBO Max, Chappelle’s Show is also available to stream via Comedy Central and CBS All Access, both of which are owned by ViacomCBS.
man, no one seen that coming though? It wasn’t like the show wasn’t poppin.
He literally said to go to viacom look at the books look at what was made and look at what they're paying him.
they offered him 50m and that wasn't enough.
So clearly the deal was supposed to be MORE if he took the job for not so great pay which was his words and then a 50m payday after 2 seasons wasn't nearly enough.
Easy excuse but not really. Chappelle is such a unique talent and the books will show he basically floated the network for half decade and was their highest earing property BY FAR. You make exceptions for exceptions.
I got that shit on my hard drive. I may watch it tonight
Plus plus plus
That was powerful, if we didn't have too many already I would request this be made a temporary sticky.
This is strictly talking about tactic...
again amy schumer didn't like a deal...made an appeal to her fanbase and got a better deal and no one blasted her for it
dave chappelle just now made a direct appeal to his fanbase about a deal he didn't like and everyone is literally rallying around him for it
monique didn't like a deal and made an appeal to her fanbase about it and got largely backlash from black people just for opening her mouth about it.
because the issue many point out is that monique MAY be right but HOW she went about was wrong...
a white woman....a black man....a black woman... HOW IS THE TACTIC DIFFERENT BETWEEN ANY OF THEM??
again amy schumer didn't like a deal...made an appeal to her fanbase and got a better deal and no one blasted her for it
dave chappelle just now made a direct appeal to his fanbase about a deal he didn't like and everyone is literally rallying around him for it
monique didn't like a deal and made an appeal to her fanbase about it and got largely backlash from black people just for opening her mouth about it.
because the issue many point out is that monique MAY be right but HOW she went about was wrong...
a white woman....a black man....a black woman... HOW IS THE TACTIC DIFFERENT BETWEEN ANY OF THEM??
this strikes me as odd since netflix is peddling the same kind of own all your shit contracts to up and coming filmmakers.
I think in people's minds Monique wasn't a big star from a comedy stand point at that time and I'm not sure if she'd done anything in recent years that said she would bring in a audience for the price she was asking. Basically the people agreed with Netflix that Monique was over valuing herself and she wasn't as popular as she believed herself to be. Is it true? Who knows. Add to the fact that Monique has been given a bad reputation and no one feels any sympathy for her.
Amy schumer may have been in the height of her career so it was somewhat easier to request more. I could be wrong all together because honestly im not a fan but because she was more active and possibly at higher level Amy could clearly show her audience.
Dave is completely different from both as far as his Comedy Central issue. Even if you believed he signed a bad deal and shouldn't complain, it seems like they were up for renegotiation. Now I'm not sure if he signed and walked away or he never renewed.The Chappelle Show is a proven hit at this point and Dave asked for more based on his proven product. Even with Dave's leave of absence he was still in high demand, so he could ask for more. Unlike Monique Dave is loved by alot of people and is considered one of comedies greatest by the public. The only negative (if you want to call it that) that you've heard being said about Dave is he didn't always have a strong black core audience. He comes off as humble and is respected for doing what most claim they would do but very few actually do by walking away from 50ms.
In my opinion this isn't necessarily about sex or race. Just like we've all learned in school and probably still at work popular or lack of determines how alot of people view you. For Dave at least, it can be argued that he earned the respect from the public and his peers.
I don't think the tactic was different, the issue was leverage and worth (entertainment wise). As much as I dislike that troll, Amy Schumer was packing MSG, Dave is Dave, we know his following.
Monique wasn't moving the same crowd so when she speaks out on what she believes her worth be others disagree based on her leverage position. I'm rooting for all black folk to win (maybe not all, mf's like the AG in Kentucky I pray for L's). Netflix disagreed with what Monique said she was worth Monique stuck to her guns on what she felt she deserved.
At the end of the day, Netflix or any other company will only be about equality or fairness unless if touchs the bottom line. Dollar bills, dollar, dollar, dollar bills.
Last edited:
Stop, go look at the Mo’Nique threads and you’ll get your answer.
Dave's superpower is that he has the most intimate conversations with his audiences. It's like listening to your older brother or uncle who has all the jokes speaking directly to you and the natural humor flows while dropping life gems. Nothing is forced. That's "funny."
Ok I’m confused. Originally Dave said he didn’t like the way the content of the Chappelle Show was being received on the set so he chose to walk away.
Today he said he was young and apparently signed a bad contract. It’s sounding like he got robbed for his publishing, meaning he didn’t get a percentage of the sales of the DVD. Which makes more sense from what he said today.
If he was required a percentage from the sales of the DVD, couldn’t he just sue to get what he was owed? And he always said the 50 million was for two more seasons of the Chappelle Show and not for the money from the DVD sales?
Bgol legal team
Lawyers ALWAYS get the blame when something goes wrong
Dave basically saying he got BAD COUNSEL
so legally speaking
What SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE HERE?
do you believe dave version of events?
What could be done now?
Lawyers ALWAYS get the blame when something goes wrong
Dave basically saying he got BAD COUNSEL
so legally speaking
What SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE HERE?
do you believe dave version of events?
What could be done now?
Damn.
I haven't watched the video yet but it sounds like Dave pulled a Taylor Swift and BGOL responded like a Bey hive.
Right.
All of those things are true.
It was a perfect storm at the time.
He didn't like season 3 and the way it had become a character when it was always us laughing at how ridiculous white people think black people are.
Next, he signed a bad contract --- but the bad part was the upfront payment, the good part was since it was bad pay he would get a good amount on the DVD sales and since its an upstart they were happy to do it (See Downey Jr's pieces of the Marvel Franchise )
The DVD was immediately #1 all-time Both season and only selling more. His percentage of DVD sales is what they didn't honor.
Now the tricky part is this... remember his part about "name in the universe etc" there apparently was a clause where basically it was saying the % he was owed was simply too much money.
So yeah technically they did what they did legally but also it wasn't in the spirit of honoring the contract (when a football player gets released you don't get the rest of the contract, it's def not what you agreed to when you signed it but they pulled out the card to rob you and they did and nothing you can do)
SO after they did this, they came through with the $50m offer which he was considering doing obviously
But that married to the whole he's being robbed and also the entire what the fuck nature of all these white people laughing AT HIM, not at themselves ruined it.
He even had a skit on season 3 making fun of him making $50m and how people treat him differently.
So he leaves and then they say he's crazy etc --- the power of the media cause people believed he'd lost his mind because he went to Africa- -- let's think on that for a minute. If he'd gone to Europe it would've been just fine
But he didn't get the money for the DVD
Comedy Central even aired the unpolished unfinished version of season 3 without his approvals on the skits --- because a lot of skits don't make the chopping blocks, we see the best they just put some shit out to cash in.
And then proceeded to give HIS SHOW to 5 or 6 people trying to replicate the success and it didn't come close (Kroll, Schumer, Mencia)
Monique threw people under the bus who didn't deserve to be thrown under the bus and that's why it was perceived differently.
I didn't disagree with her from day 1 I agree with her stance get your money
However she didn't just appeal to her fanbase innocently and without scorching the earth of other people let's not act like that happened.
Dave got blackballed for a few years after Chapelle show and he didn't mention that once in this did he?
Monique -- did scorch earth on folks and still is right now that's just how she does it I ain't here to say her way is right or wrong but it ain't the same.
100% agree. Monique has a damn Oscar and WE still called her out of pocket for demanding equal pay.
Similar threads
