Comedy Central’s hit series Chappelle’s Show launched last week on Netflix and HBO Max, but hardcore fans might notice that a single episode is missing from both streaming services. Now, a source tells the Daily Beast why the series isn’t available in its entirety.
It started on October 30, when WarnerMedia announced that “all seasons” of the show would be available starting November 1 as part of a non-exclusive licensing deal. (The launch also included other popular Comedy Central programs including Inside Amy Schumer, Nathan for You, Reno 911!, and Key & Peele.) Netflix made a similar announcement but didn’t specify which episodes would be included on the platform.
But on launch day, both services had quietly omitted the sixth episode from the second season of Chappelle’s Show. The episode in question, “The Internet & Moment in the Life of Lil Jon,” originally aired in 2004 and included classic Chappelle sketches, like the first installment of “When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong.”
According to a source with knowledge of the deal, a sketch titled “If the Internet Was a Real Place” was a particular point of concern. In it, Chappelle explores a physical manifestation of the internet and is greeted by porn star Ron Jeremy, who invites him on perverse adventures. After Chappelle declines to watch Jeremy have sex, the two settle on watching Paris Hilton‘s leaked sex tape together.
The source told the Daily Beast that the episode was first removed from Comedy Central and CBS All Access (both owned by ViacomCBS) in June when Jeremy was charged with sexually assaulting four women. Last week, he was hit with additional charges. Jeremy is now facing a total of 11 counts of forcible rape, eight counts of sexual battery by restraint, six counts of forcible oral copulation, five counts of forcible penetration by a foreign object, and much more. Having pleaded not guilty to the first set of charges this summer and unable to come up with the $6.6 million in bail, he remains in jail and, if found guilty, faces up to 330 years in prison.
The outlet adds, “a source close to ViacomCBS, a source close to WarnerMedia, and a source familiar with the situation all independently confirmed that both streamers were notified in advance by ViacomCBS that this specific episode would not be made available as part of their non-exclusive deals.”
This is not the first instance of problematic episodes going to the graveyard. Earlier this year, five episodes of South Park featuring depictions of the Prophet Muhammad were excluded from a $500 million streaming rights deal with HBO Max. And in June, an episode of Comedy Central’s Workaholics was removed from streaming archives when guest star Chris D’Elia was accused of sexually harassing underage girls.
Chappelle and fellow Chappelle’s Show executive producers Neal Brennan and Michele Armour have not commented on the matter. But for those who want access to the episode, it remains available for purchase via Amazon and YouTube.