Red Hot Chili Peppers distance themselves from Hillel Slovak Netflix documentary

4 February 2026, 09:31 | Updated: 4 February 2026, 09:42

Red Hot Chili Peppers Chad Smith, Anthony Kiedis, John Frusciante and Flea with their late guitarist Hillel Slovak inset. Picture: Clara Balzary, Paul Bergen/Redferns/Getty

The band have taken to social media to share with fans that they had "nothing to do with it creatively".

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Red Hot Chili Peppers have distanced themselves from an upcoming documentary, which initially appeared to be about their former co-founding member Hillel Slovak.

The California Funk rockers said they agreed to be interviewed about the late guitarist - who died of a heroin overdose in 1988 aged just 26 years old - for the Netflix show, but have since released a statement addressing how the film has been positioned.

Taking to Instagram, Anthony Kiedis and co wrote: "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," they added.

"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."

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The Chili Peppers - who are now made up of co-founding members frontman Anthony Kiedis and bassist Flea alongside Chad Smith, who replaced early drummer Jack Irons and John Frusciante, who replaced Hillel after his passing - added that they hope the documentary "sparks interest" in the late guitarist.

The By The Way rockers added: "The central subject of this current Netflix special is Hillel Slovak and we hope it sparks interest in him and his work."

According to Variety, the documentary - which is directed by Ben Feldman - was secretly screened at Cannes Film Festival last year, where it was marketed top potential buyers, before further screenings took place in New York and Los Angeles.

Feldman said in a statement: "It’s a true honour to partner with Netflix to bring The Rise of the Red Hot Chili Peppers to a global audience.

"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."

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