“Chappelle’s Show,” one of the most watched (and most quoted) shows of the past two years almost became “Chappelle’s No-Show” after Dave Chappelle walked away from a $50 million contract in May of last year.
On Friday, Dave talked to Oprah Winfrey, his first televised interview since the incident, giving his side of the story about his abrupt disappearance and subsequent fleeing to Africa.
“I wasn’t walking away from the money,” Chappelle said. “I was walking away from the circumstances that were involved with making the show. It was completely outside of my frame of reference.”
But in lieu of his presence, rumors were popping up all over the Internet.
Some, like www.chappelletheory.com, were obviously facetious. Yet, more and more were seriously questioning his sanity.
After it became known that Chappelle had flown to Africa, many thought he had sought psychiatric help there for an undisclosed mental illness or instability, but he was quick to dismiss the idea.
“No, I wasn’t crazy or on drugs,” he said. “I was just completely stressed out. And besides,” he joked, “who would go to Africa from America for medical attention?”
Chappelle explained that he picked Africa because he had family friends there, and it was somewhere he needed to go to reflect.
So what could make someone so stressed out walk away from $50 million and flee to Africa? A number of things, according to Chappelle.
After the sales of the “Chappelle’s Show” Season 2 DVD exploded (500,000 copies in the first day and 1.2 million in the first week) and became the highest selling TV series of all time, things took a turn for the worse.
Contract negotiations were looming and so was the pressure. Chappelle said he became aware that certain people “had a vested interest in being in control.”
“It’s not the fame or money,” he said. “It’s the way people around you position themselves to get into your pocket and your mind. I felt like a prostitute.”
He ominously added that “success takes you where character cannot sustain you.”
He also added that he felt like the people around him weren’t in touch with his audience as well, saying that they “were wrong 100 percent of the time about what [the audience] wanted.”
Chappelle remained vague throughout the interview as to whom he was referring to: Comedy Central or his supporting cast and writers.
He was also quick to point out that this is partly his fault as well.
“I’m not absolving myself from responsibility entirely,” he said. “Obviously part of this is my fault. I had my own personal problems that get inflamed when you make this kind of money.”
While Chappelle didn’t go into those problems, he did talk a little more on his responsibility.
“I was doing sketches that were funny but socially irresponsible,” he said.
Chappelle elaborated on his social responsibility by explaining a skit that involved a pixie in “blackface” that was supposed to represent racism as a whole.
“Somebody on set laughed, and I think it was the first laugh I’ve ever been uncomfortable with,” he said. “I can tell the difference between someone laughing with me and someone laughing at me.”
It was this moment, Chappelle said, that he realized he was doing more harm than good.
“Nobody watches a comedian to see how socially responsible he is,” Chappelle said. “But I felt kind of guilty for being asleep at the wheel.”
So now the big question remains: What’s the future of “Chappelle’s Show”?
The answer isn’t cut and dry.
Chappelle didn’t seem to be encouraging about his return to Comedy Central, nor did he hint at the possibility of even being in negotiations. Talking into the camera as if it were a window into the Comedy Central conference room, Chappelle said that it would take a few things to get him to come back (and even then it’s just to finish the remainder of the third season).
The first thing he wants is to make a proper work environment and to surround himself with people that he wants to work with.
The second and biggest stipulation would be that Comedy Central allow him to donate half of the DVD proceedings to whom he wishes.
“I’m trying to unload this money back to the people that supported me,” he said, adding, “I don’t want the money or the drama. I just want to have fun again.”
While the future of “Chappelle’s Show” is still in peril, Comedy Central plans to run the first half of skits shot before Chappelle’s disappearance sometime in the spring.