The Red Hot Chili Peppers have issued a formal statement to clarify their relationship with the upcoming Netflix documentary “The Rise Of The Red Hot Chili Peppers“. While the film features interviews with band members, the funk-rock legends emphasized that the project is not an authorized band biography and that they had no creative control over the final product.
Directed by Ben Feldman (“Bug Out,” “Rich & Shameless“), the documentary is scheduled to premiere on the streaming giant on March 20. However, following the release of promotional materials marketing the film as a general documentary about the group, the band took to social media on January 30 to correct the narrative. They specified that their participation was strictly intended to honor their late founding guitarist, Hillel Slovak.
“Dear people of the universe,”
“About a year ago, we were asked to be interviewed for a documentary about Hillel Slovak. He was a founding member of the group, a great guitarist, and friend. We agreed to be interviewed out of love and respect for Hillel and his memory. However, this documentary is now being advertised as a Red Hot Chili Peppers documentary, which it is not. We had nothing to do with it creatively. We have yet to make a Red Hot Chili Peppers documentary. The central subject of this current Netflix special is Hillel Slovak and we hope it sparks interest in him and his work.”
The film, which was screened secretly for potential buyers at Cannes last year, focuses heavily on the band’s formative years and the impact of Slovak. A key figure in the band’s history who encouraged Flea to learn the bass, Slovak died of a h**oin overdose in his Los Angeles apartment in 1988 at the age of 26.
Despite the band’s assertion that they were not creatively involved, Director Ben Feldman expressed gratitude for their contribution in a statement confirming the Netflix acquisition.
“It’s a true honor to partner with Netflix to bring ‘The Rise of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ to a global audience,” Feldman said. “At its heart, this is a deeply relatable story — about the friendships that shape our identities and the lasting power of the bonds forged in adolescence. What’s less relatable, of course, is that here those friends went on to create one of the greatest rock bands in history. I’m profoundly grateful to the band and to Hillel’s family for their trust and generosity, and to Netflix for helping bring this story to the world stage.”
