Netflix broke its silence and took stance on the recent controversy that surrounded Dave Chappelle’s new comedy special, ‘The Closer’. According to reports, the web series released last week on Netflix had several minutes of trolls about trans people. Many LGBTQ+ advocates and sympathizers criticized the show calling it ‘regressive’ and ‘transphobic’. Apparently, the comedian used the language “team TERF,” which refers to “trans-exclusionary radical feminist”.
While the controversy circled the entertainment industry, Netflix’s co-CEO Ted Sarandos broke silence on October 8th by defending the comedy special. He said to the media that “Several of you have also asked where we draw the line on hate. We don’t allow titles on Netflix that are designed to incite hate or violence, and we don’t believe The Closer crosses that line. I recognize, however, that distinguishing between commentary and harm is hard, especially with stand-up comedy which exists to push boundaries. Some people find the art of stand-up to be mean-spirited but our members enjoy it, and it’s an important part of our content offering.”
Recently, Netflix suspended three of its staff for rebelling against the management and attending a virtual meeting with directors and vice presidents without any notification to the meeting organizer.
I work at @netflix. Yesterday we launched another Chappelle special where he attacks the trans community, and the very validity of transness – all while trying to pit us against other marginalized groups. You're going to hear a lot of talk about "offense".
We are not offended 🧵
— Terra Field (@RainofTerra) October 7, 2021
When asked about the matter, Netflix clarified that “It is absolutely untrue to say that we have suspended any employees for tweeting about this show. Our employees are encouraged to disagree openly and we support their right to do so.”
The streaming giant also tweeted, “Netflix has a policy that content ‘designed to incite hate or violence is not allowed on the platform, but we all know that anti-LGBTQ content does exactly that. While Netflix is home to groundbreaking LGBTQ stories, now is the time for Netflix execs to listen to LGBTQ employees, industry leaders, and audiences and commit to living up to their own standards.”
Netflix has a policy that content "designed to incite hate or violence" is not allowed on the platform, but we all know that anti-LGBTQ content does exactly that. 1/2 https://t.co/68qIAAeghl
— GLAAD (@glaad) October 11, 2021
