‘Chappelle’s Show’ back on Netflix Friday
Comedian says he knows his success is due to his fans
“Chappelle’s Show” has returned to Netflix as of Friday, and you have only yourselves to blame. And that, according to the comic behind the classic program, is a very good thing.
Dave Chappelle announced his show’s return to the streaming platform — and his recent payment for it — in a performance called “Redemption Song,” posted late Thursday on Instagram.
“This is a very important moment,” he said. “I want to thank Ted Sarandos at Netflix, a CEO who had the courage to take my show off its platform, at financial detriment to his company, just because I asked him.”
The request was part of Chappelle’s effort a few months back, after his 2003-06 show debuted Nov. 1 on Netflix with no additional payment to him. He said he had called Sarandos and asked him to pull the show “just so I could feel better.” The streamer agreed to do its comedy star’s bidding.
Chappelle continued Thursday: “I want to thank Chris Mccarthy of CBS Viacom (sic). This guy is younger than me, and like most people younger than me, has an interest in making the past right . ... Finally, after all these years, I can finally say to Comedy Central, it’s been a pleasure doing business with you.”
He pinned responsibility for that success directly on his fan base.
After taking a circuitous route in his performance through a scathing discussion of Edward Snowden, the upheaval in Ferguson, Mo., militarization of police and the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Chappelle said he knows where his power lies: with his fans.
“I asked you to stop watching the show, and thank God almighty for you, you did,” he said. “You made that show worthless, because without your eyes, it’s nothing. And when you stopped watching it, they called me, and I got my name back. And I got my license back. And I got my show back. And they paid me millions of dollars. Thank you very much.”
In November, Chappelle said in his “Unforgiven” special that his fans were his “real boss” and that the “public flogging” he was giving Comedy Central was not something performers were supposed to do. He could do it, he said, because of the public support he has.
“I’m coming to you,” he said at the time. “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.”
Chappelle said in November that he had reached out to what he presumed was a new group of people running Comedy Central and asked them to review what he got paid for doing “Chappelle’s Show” back in the day, compared with how much the show has made.
Netflix and HBO Max got streaming rights to the series in the U.S. through a nonexclusive deal with Viacomcbs, which owns Comedy Central. The shows will ultimately become exclusive to the CBS All Access streaming service, soon to be known as Paramount+.
Chappelle got no additional money for the streaming deal, having unwittingly given up those rights years ago, in perpetuity, before the prospect of streaming TV even existed.
“You need to know how to solve your problems,” he said Thursday. “You need to know where your power lies. You are Americans, so your power lies in each other.”
Chappelle also addressed his January bout with COVID-19, contracted after he was doing what he could to keep performing during the pandemic. “After all these months and doing all these shows ... my number was up, and then I had the ‘rona. Aww.”
Most people wished him a speedy recovery, he said.
“But there was a faction of people, the cowards, who said, ‘You see that, Dave Chappelle, that’s why we stay inside where it’s safe, and we never try anything.’
“Well, enjoy yourself …,” Chappelle said, “’cause I’m better now.”
While arguing about taking out the trash may be one of the sillier disputes a couple may get into, the most serious fights often concern your finances. Nothing sours a relationship like thinking your partner is wasting the money you worked hard for. But experts say there’s a simple way to cut many of those disputes off before they happen: have separate financial accounts.
“Most couples hate to talk about money and will delay discussing their finances,” said Gina Grippo martinez, wealth adviser at ALINE Wealth in the New York City area. “This can lead to some unfortunate surprises down the road,” especially around debt and spending levels.
“While it’s not exactly romantic to think about these things, they are the reality,” she said, noting that it’s better to at least consider your alternatives rather than ignore it and regret it later.
But doesn’t a separate account damage the trust in a relationship with your significant other? It doesn’t have to, say financial experts, who point to other benefits of separate accounts that can strengthen your tie.
Some couples maintain a joint bank account because they think it’s a way to maintain their unity as a couple and it can be easier to monitor spending. Others set up a joint account simply because that’s “the thing to do” and don’t really consider the decision with much self-reflection.
“Foremost, it is a sign of unity, commitment, and trust in your relationship and your partner,” Grippo-martinez said. “You are giving each other complete access and control over your money. That is a huge commitment.”
A joint account also allows couples “the ability to jointly pay for living expenses and other expenses such as vacations, home projects, and expenses for children,” said Skylar Riddle, CFP, financial advisor at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.
Riddle also points to the ability to fund other savings goals, such as IRAS. “It creates unity regardless of income differences between the couple.”
But those benefits of closeness can also create significant problems, and what looks like a benefit of unity or commitment at first may turn into a straitjacket.
“Before joining your finances together, you were never accountable to someone else for your spending decisions,” Grippo-martinez said. “Now you have someone looking over your shoulder and reviewing the statements.”
On top of that you need to be aware of your partner’s spending habits, and a financially unfaithful partner could drain the account, and you’ll have little recourse.
Even if your situation is not so drastic, fundamental differences in each partner’s saving and spending habits can easily turn into major fights as one partner wants to take a vacation while the other wants to save that money for retirement.
Separate bank accounts can actually help your marriage.
Financial experts won’t deny that joint accounts can have benefits for a couple, but for some experts those benefits can be maintained even with separate accounts. Plus, separate accounts may alleviate some of the fights that occur when a couple has a joint account.
“If your views on saving and spending are too divergent, it may be best to maintain separate accounts so spending does not become a strain on the relationship,” Grippo-martinez said.
There’s no question that separate accounts give you more freedom (as they do to your partner). You’ll be in full control of your money and won’t have to review statements to see who spent what. It will afford you some privacy, but you’ll need to be comfortable with your partner having a similar degree of monetary freedom.
While separate accounts may alleviate some disputes, they may stoke others, for example, if one partner is “paying for all of the essentials and the other is not contributing,” Riddle said.
And of course there’s the perception that separate accounts demonstrate a lack of trust and commitment. In particularly demanding circumstances it could create some problems, too.
“If you are paying a shared debt you may have to first transfer funds to your partner’s account,” Grippo-martinez said. “In the event of an emergency, your partner will not have access to your accounts.”
But separate financial accounts don’t necessarily mean the end of commitment.
“It’s not the fact that the money is separate or together, it is how you use the money collectively,” Riddle said. “Keeping the money separate can actually increase romance because you are able to do things for the other person without the money coming from a joint account.”
Try a combination of joint accounts and separate accounts.
Fortunately, couples aren’t forced into an either-or solution here. They can easily use a separate account for their personal spending and a joint account for their joint payments, such as rent or a mortgage, child care, utilities and the like.
You and your significant other can enjoy the benefits of both accounts, such as joint bill paying, without so many of the drawbacks.
Coordinating more accounts will create more legwork as partners move money between accounts each month for paying bills, but that may just be the cost of a happy relationship.
“If someone wants to splurge on golf clubs or shoes every now and then, they should be able to,” Grippo-martinez said. “Sometimes ignorance is bliss.”
Regardless of how couples title their accounts, all joint, all separate, or a mix of both, it is important for all couples to sit down together at least on an annual basis to talk about finances,” Riddle said.
This kind of open communication can help foster a more positive relationship.
“Couples can make this a romantic event by having a special dinner or going out to a show and discussing what they want to do together or where they want to travel,” he said.
“Like anything else in a relationship, being honest is the best way to make finances successful.”