Dave Chappelle's request to remove his critically acclaimed show Chappelle's Show from Netflix was honored after airing his "Unforgiven" special from Houston. The famed comedian, who previously expressed grievances with both Netflix and HBO on his SNL appearance, explained that he wasn't getting paid off of his creation and Netflix confirmed that they'd take the show off of their platform.
HBO Max has now followed suit. Casey Bloys, CCO of HBO and HBO Max, said that he had a conversation with Dave Chappelle and agreed to take the show off of their streaming service at the end of the year during Variety's Virtual FYCFest.
"We had a conversation with Dave. I won’t get into it, but it’s very clear that it’s a very unique and specific and emotional issue he’s got," Bloys said. "So at the end of the year, at the end of this year, December 31st, we’re going to honor his request and take the show down."
Chappelle previously explained the irony that HBO would even host the show after rejecting it. "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?" Chappelle said during the special. "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?”
In our recent interview with Bun B, the UGK legend revealed that he was actually sitting side-stage when Chappelle shared this revelation." You look at the liquidity of Dave Chappelle and this level of celebrity that Dave Chappelle has, the assumption is that everything is going his way," he said, adding that he was taken aback by the news. "And just knowing that something that entertains so many people, in the moment, and still to this day, like The Chappelle Show, is not in the hands of Dave Chappelle, is confusing to the average person. To artists, it's disheartening."
Check out Dave Chappelle's Unforgiven below.