Casey Bloys, chief content officer of HBO and HBO Max, has confirmed with Variety that “Chappelle’s Show” will be removed from HBO Max at the end of the month at the request of series creator and star Dave Chappelle. Per Bloys’ statement: “We had a conversation with Dave. I won’t go into it, but it’s very clear that it’s a very unique and specific and emotional problem that he has. So at the end of the year, at the end of the year. at the end of this year, December 31, we will honor his request and stop the show. “
Read more from IndieWire: Best Christmas Movies to Stream with Your Family
The decision to remove “Chappelle’s Show” from HBO Max follows in the footsteps of Netflix, which pulled the sketch comedy series off its streaming platform in late November. Chappelle urged his fans not to stream “Chappelle’s Show” on different platforms because series owner ViacomCBS has not paid him to write the Comedy Central hit. With Netflix no longer streaming “Chappelle’s Show” and following HBO Max soon, only ViacomCBS streamer CBS All Access will include the show in its library.
Read more from IndieWire: “House of the Dragon”: Everything you need to know about the upcoming HBO series
Chappelle posted an Instagram video as Netflix pulled “Chappelle’s Show” to explain why he had asked companies to pull the series from streaming. The comedian said, “People think I made a lot of money on ‘Chappelle’s Show.’” When I left that show, I never got paid. [ViacomCBS] didn’t have to pay me because I signed the contract. But is that correct? I found out that these people were streaming my work and they never had to ask or tell me. Completely legal because I signed the contract. But is that correct? I don’t think so either. “
Read more from IndieWire: The 2020 blacklist presents the best non-produced scripts of the year
In the same video, Chappelle reflected on how ironic it was that HBO Max was taking advantage of “Chappelle’s Show” when HBO turned down the comedian’s pitch for the TV series so many years ago. As Chappelle explained, ‘They literally said,’ What do we need you for? ‘That’s what they told me when they kicked me out of the office,’ What do we need you for? ‘ And here we are all these years later and they are streaming the show that I was pitching for them. So I ask them: what do you need me for? ‘
“Chappelle’s Show” will be streaming on HBO Max through December 31.