Don't Watch That Show

"I'm coming to my real boss. I'm coming to you.

I'm begging you, if you ever liked me, if you ever think there was anything worthwhile about me, I'm begging you, please don't watch that show. I'm not asking you to boycott any network. Boycott me! Boycott Chappelle Show. DO NOT WATCH IT unless they pay me.

- Dave Chappelle

Why is comedian Dave Chappelle asking his fans NOT to watch his namesake comedy show, you ask?

He explains it all in a very powerful 18-minute clip appropriately called "Unforgiven", posted to his Instagram account on Tuesday afternoon.

You can watch the full clip here, but I'll warn you, the language Chappelle uses is very R-rated and absolutely puts this in the "not safe for work" category.

Towards the end of this segment, Chappelle speaks about how poorly HBO treated him when he pitched "Chappelle Show" to them years ago.

In fact, he says they told him, "Why do we need YOU?!?"

And yet, he goes on to explain that, years later, HBO Max is streaming his show -- the very show they rejected years earlier -- on their platform.

But... based on the language of the contract he signed 20-years ago, Chappelle doesn't get paid anything when his work is licensed to streaming platforms... and he's not happy about that. Which is why he's asking his fans to boycott his show.

Chappelle also talks about Netflix in the clip... but he speaks about them very differently.

In fact, he makes it a point to explain to his fans why he likes working with Netflix so much.

You see, when Dave Chappelle found out that the Chappelle Show was also being streamed on Netflix (for which he also isn't getting paid), he called Netflix and told him that, "makes him feel bad".

And Netflix, who has worked with Chappelle on a number of comedy shows exclusive to the platform, responded by promptly agreeing to pull the show.

(For the record, I wouldn't be surprised if it's back on Netflix in the future, after we see an announcement that Chappelle is getting compensated for having his work shown, regardless of the fact that the original contract doesn't require any such payment.)

Two remarkably different corporate attitudes, both put on display by an extremely influential celebrity.

"Bad PR" by an unhappy celebrity isn't the reason you should always treat people with respect.

You should treat people with respect because it's the right thing to do.

But after watching Chappelle's clip... wouldn't you rather be Netflix than HBO Max?

- dp