Netflix Pulls ‘Chappelle Show’ from Lineup
Through his Instagram page, comedian Dave Chappelle uploaded a 19 minute video telling fans about his experiences as he made his way up the Hollywood ladder. What at first looked to be a snippet from an upcoming comedy special, quickly turned into an educational class on how big media corporations work.
Dave spoke on one particular instance, when, as a young comic he let another comedian ‘borrow’ one of his jokes for an audition. After realizing the comedian continued to use his joke, Dave politely asked the other comic to stop using it. The comic replied, “Oh, I forgot to ask you, let me buy the joke for $50.” Dave replies, ” No, I’m new and I need all the material I got.” At that point, Dave, 15 years old at the time, was essentially told by the older comic. This my joke now.
Dave compares this experience to the one with ‘Chappelle Show’. He details why he signed the contract with Comedy Central and what was in it. He also shares that he first pitched the idea to HBO and how they didn’t just give him a simple “yes” or “no”, they tried to humiliate him.
At this point in the video, you can here faint laughing in the background. The audience wasn’t sure if they were jokes or not. Honestly, I couldn’t tell either. Dave also shared that, because of the contract he signed with Comedy Central, he’s never profited off of his hit show.
Dave’s tone gets more serious as he shares with us how he felt when he found out HBO Max, the same company that tried to humiliate him, was streaming ‘Chappelle Show’. The show he created, but doesn’t receive money for. Netflix also streamed the show, but took it down at Dave’s request. “If you ever liked me… please don’t watch that show.” Said Dave, explaining to the audience that he loves Netflix for removing the show and that he has more faith in his fans than he does his own agent.
I won’t share all the details of the video, but Dave is essentially saying what I’ve been saying for years. Big media corporations bully and milk the creatives all the time while only sharing the profits with each other. We as consumers control the prices and the content. Now’s the time to take a stand.
Can someone please explain to me why you’re mad at @YouTubeTV . This same issue happens with Cable and Satellite services. Why? Because companies like Sinclair hike prices. Don’t let them fool you. How come wherever they go there’s trouble. Explain that.
— Ota news (@otantenna) September 30, 2020
