Netflix Walkout: Employees Demand Trans Solidarity | News

Netflix Walkout: Employees Protest Handling of Dave Chappelle Special

Yesterday saw Netflix employees participate in a walkout, triggered by the company's response to a Dave Chappelle comedy special which debuted on October 5th. Simultaneously, Ashlee Marie Preston, a Los Angeles-based trans activist, organized a rally demonstrating support for the protesting Netflix staff.

Solidarity from Netflix Stars and Advocates

Notable figures from the streaming platform, including Jonathan Van Ness (“Queer Eye”) and Mason Alexander Park (“Cowboy Bebop” and “The Sandman”), voiced their support through a video created for the rally. They were joined by other prominent Hollywood personalities and trans rights advocates such as Angelica Ross, Jameela Jamil, Kate Bornstein, Our Lady J, Sara Ramirez, Peppermint, and Colton Haynes.

Demands for Change

The participating employees have requested that Netflix implement “measures to prevent future instances of platforming transphobia and hate speech,” as stated in a formal letter. Their demands are categorized into three key areas: content investment, employee relations and safety, and harm reduction.

Specific Requests Across Categories

• Content Investment: Increased financial support for trans and non-binary creatives, inclusion of employee resource groups in content review processes, and a greater representation of trans and non-binary individuals in content executive positions. Internal procedures regarding the commissioning and release of potentially sensitive material should also be revised.
• Employee Relations and Safety: Proactive recruitment of trans individuals, particularly BIPOC, for leadership roles. Employees should be permitted to disassociate themselves from previous promotional materials, and transphobic content or imagery should be removed from the workplace.
• Harm Reduction: Acknowledgment of the harm caused by platforming transphobic content, the addition of disclaimers before such titles, increased promotion of trans-affirming content, and suggestions for relevant content alongside potentially harmful material.

No Call for Removal of the Special

Notably, the group’s demands do not include the removal of the controversial Dave Chappelle special from Netflix, despite the significant backlash it received from employees and subscribers concerned about the platform’s stance on transphobic rhetoric.

Executive Response

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos refrained from committing to any of the group’s requests. He emphasized the company’s “deep commitment to inclusion on screen and behind the camera, and in our workplace.”

Hesitation Regarding Disclaimers

Sarandos expressed skepticism about adding a disclaimer regarding transphobia before Chappelle’s special, noting that the content is already age-restricted and that Chappelle provides a clear warning at the beginning of the show. He deemed a further disclaimer “inappropriate in this case.”

Initial Defense and Subsequent Nuance

Prior to the special’s release, employees voiced concerns about potentially harmful anti-trans jokes. Chappelle had publicly identified as “Team TERF,” a position opposing transgender rights. Sarandos initially defended the special, asserting that “content on screen doesn’t directly translate to real-world harm.” He later clarified to The Hollywood Reporter that he “100% believe[s] that content on screen can have impact in the real world, positive and negative.”

Employee Suspension and Reinstatement

Terra Field, a transgender Senior Software Engineer at Netflix, shared a widely circulated Twitter thread discussing the Chappelle special. She clarified that the objections were not about personal offense, but about the harm inflicted on the trans community, particularly Black trans women.

Field was initially suspended, along with two other employees, for attempting to join an online meeting with top executives. However, she was subsequently reinstated after it was determined that a director had mistakenly shared the meeting link with her.

Organizer Termination and Further Backlash

Following the initial walkout organization, B. Pagels-Minor, the organizer and global lead of both the Black and Trans employee resource groups, was terminated. This action sparked further criticism of Netflix.

A Netflix representative stated that the termination was due to the sharing of “confidential, commercially sensitive information” outside the company, while acknowledging the employee’s potential disappointment. They emphasized the importance of maintaining “a culture of trust and transparency.”

Disputed Leak and Internal Metrics

The leaked information reportedly included internal metrics regarding “The Closer,” revealing that Netflix invested $24.1 million in the special. This contrasted with $3.9 million spent on Bo Burnham’s “Inside” and $21.4 million on the popular series “Squid Game.”

Netflix claims the employee admitted to sharing the data externally. However, Pagels-Minor’s lawyer has denied these allegations. A former Netflix employee suggested that Pagels-Minor was unlikely to be the source of the leak, having publicly criticized such disclosures.

Netflix maintains that its internal logs indicate only one person accessed the sensitive data related to the titles mentioned in the Bloomberg report.