Before its first episode aired in January of 2003, Dave Chappelle signed a contract with Comedy Central to produce his comedy sketch series Chappelle's Show. He compared the meeting with Comedy Central executives to finalize the deal to incident at the age of 18 when he was duped in a game of three-card Monty. "What if they were all friends and I didn't know it?" After two spectacularly successful seasons of the show, Chappelle choose to walk away before the premiere of the third season in 2005. Because of Chappelle's decision to leave the show, Comedy Central weren't liable to pay him.

In a comedy special released on Instagram, Chappelle describes the language of his contract which granted Comedy Central the right to use his likeness "in perpetuity throughout the universe." Perhaps it's because the nature of this legalese is so sweeping that it sounds so ridiculous. Netflix stopped streaming Chappelle's Show at his request and now HBO Max has too. These actions fall short of rectifying the plunder; Viacom has the opportunity to give Chappelle back what is his. The alternative, which Chappelle delivers before tossing his mic on the floor, is that Dave Chappelle can do what any man would when someone obstructs his livelihood: he can just take it.

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