Dave Chappelle on his "long detour" after "Chappelle’s Show"

Dave Chappelle made headlines when he walked away from “Chappelle’s Show,” his hugely successful and Emmy-nominated Comedy Central show 12 years ago. Now he’s returning to TV with three new Netflix stand-up specials.

In a rare, in-depth interview with “CBS This Morning” co-host Gayle King, Chappelle discussed his decision to leave his old show and how he finds refuge in his small Ohio hometown.

“They do seem to be very protective of you in this town,” King noted.

“They are,” Chappelle said.

“Is that true?” King said.

“That’s true. Even when I quit the show, and the media was coming around to see what was going on with me, they didn’t tell them anything. It was very few leaks, if any,” Chappelle said.

When he quit, “Chappelle’s Show” had just completed two very successful seasons. He walked away in 2005 before the third season, leaving $50 million on the table.

“As you sit here now 12 years later, do you wish you had done it differently?” King asked him.

“That’s a tough question to answer. You know? Again, like I would say it’s very hard to say what you would have done. You only really know what you did. And at the end of the day, ultimately, I didn’t feel good about what I did. It was not easy. And I do not recommend it,” Chappelle said, chuckling. “But it worked for me, you know what I mean? I took the Dave Chappelle detour. It was a scenic route. I’m glad I took the route. But it was a long, long, long detour.”

Watch “CBS This Morning” on Monday, March 20 to see King’s full conversation with Chappelle on that detour and where it led him.