Dave Chappelle explains why ‘Key & Peele’ hurts his feelings

Dave Chappelle says that while he’s a “fan” of erstwhile sketch comedy show Key & Peele, a lack of credit he received for its success has hurt his feelings.

Speaking to Gayle King during an interview on CBS This Morning to coincide with the release of Chappelle’s new Netflix comedy specials, Chappelle discussed the tension he feels with the Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key series, which aired on Comedy Central years after Chappelle’s Chappelle’s Show went off the air.

“When I did Chappelle’s Show, there were certain conventions of the show that the network resisted. I fought the network very hard so that those conventions could come to fruition,” Chappelle told King. “So like the first episode, I do that black white supremacist sketch. And it’s like, ‘Well, that’s 10 minutes long. It should be five minutes long.’ Why should it be five minutes long? Like, these types of conventions. I fought very hard. … So when I watch Key & Peele and I see they’re doing a format that I created, and at the end of the show, it says, ‘Created by Key & Peele,’ that hurts my feelings.”

Despite saying he likes the show, Chappelle has not always seemed terribly fond of his de facto successors. In a bit for his new Netflix comedy specials, he joked that for these past few years, “I had to watch Key & Peele do my show every night!”

Key and Peele have also followed Chappelle’s path in leaving Comedy Central behind for greener pastures. Peele recently directed the wildly acclaimed horror thriller Get Out, while Key recently starred in Mike Birbiglia’s Don’t Think Twice.

Chappelle’s two stand-up specials The Age of Spin and Deep in the Heart of Texas hit Netflix March 21.