Problem
On October 5, 2021 Netflix released "The Closer," a stand-up special from comedian Dave Chappelle. Two days later, a Netflix engineer, Terra Field, fired off a Twitter thread about Chappelle's transphobic remarks and how his special tries to pit the transgender community against other marginalized groups. Violence against transgender individuals is on the rise in the United States, making Chappelle's comments even more inflammatory.
It later came out that employees came to executives with concerns about the material before the special was even released, leading many to question not only Netflix's process of due diligence, but also their trust of and respect for their own employees. After the special aired, employees invited Chappelle and Netflix executives to join them for "transformative dialogue," in order to shed light on issues faced by the transgender community-an invitation that was declined.
Executives claim "The Closer" does not cross the line into hate speech and is simply commentary that pushes boundaries but doesn't incite violence. Dozens of employees walked out of their Los Angeles offices and joined hundreds of supporters and trans activists, while many remote employees shut down their laptops in a virtual walkout.
One organizer of the walkout, B. Pagels-Minor, a pregnant woman who works as a program manager and happens to be Black and transgender, was fired shortly before the event for allegedly leaking statistics on the special to the media (they deny leaking the information). They are now suing the company, along with three other employees who were suspended for sitting in on an executive meeting they weren't invited to.
Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, told employees that "content on screen doesn't directly translate to real-world harm." Organizations like GLAAD and the American Academy of Pediatrics quickly refuted Sarandos' statement. It was even directly negated by research revealed in one of Netflix's own documentaries, a 2020 film called "Disclosure" that explored how trans people are impacted by negative representations in pop culture. Activists were quick to point out that by shooing away the concerns of the transgender community, Netflix only increased the harmed they were doing.
Subscribers may be familiar with campaigns the company recently put in place to highlight diverse content on their platform. On the outside, Netflix seems very inclusive, but revelations about the working culture and insight on executive priorities seem to suggest otherwise. Earlier this year, Netflix released its first inclusion report, which highlighted areas in which they need to improve-namely pay equity for underrepresented employees. The report concluded that while progress had been made in character depictions, there were still major demographics that were lacking, such as LGBTQ+ characters who appeared in the main cast of only 4% of movies and 6% of series.
Sarandos eventually admitted to handling the situation with his employees poorly by snapping back and being defensive instead of listening to employees who were hurt and expressing concern. Most recently, Dave Chappelle agreed to meet with Netflix employees, but claimed he would not be summoned and had several conditions.
This case study is adapted from 2022 SAGE Publications, Ltd. All Rights Reserved
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