The fallout over Dave Chappelle’s controversial comedy special The Closer continues, as Netflix employees have planned a walkout over the streamer’s response to its criticism. The event, officially titled “‘Stand Up’ In Solidarity: A Rally in Support Of The Team Trans* Walk-Out At Netflix,” will be held today, October 20, at Netflix’s Los Angeles headquarters.
In a social media post announcing the walkout, organizers describe the event as an opportunity to “underscore the importance of responsible content offerings that prioritize the safety and dignity of all marginalized communities.”
This walkout comes after one of its organizers, B. Pagels-Minor, was fired from their position at the streamer. Netflix is accusing them of leaking sensitive data to the press, although Pagels-Minor denies these allegations. In a statement to The New York Times, they maintain no ill will towards the company, saying, “I want them to be successful, but the only way to succeed is to hold themselves to the values they expound.” A similar sentiment was echoed by software engineer Terra Field in a blog post, who says that “a place can’t be a great place to work if someone has to betray their community to do so.”
Chappelle’s special drew major backlash regarding transphobic rhetoric and jokes, particularly in which the comedian labeled himself as a TERF (Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist). Adding fuel to the fire, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos recently sent an internal memo in the wake of employee suspensions stating that the platform does not believe its titles, including The Closer, “are designed to incite hate or violence." In a subsequent interview with Variety, Sarandos said that he “screwed up” the response to the backlash and that he believes “storytelling has a real impact in the real world.” However, he continued to defend The Closer as he believes that it does not fall under hate speech.
Netflix has released an official statement regarding today's walkout, saying:
“We value our trans colleagues and allies, and understand the deep hurt that’s been caused. We respect the decision of any employee who chooses to walk out, and recognize we have much more work to do both within Netflix and in our content.”
“‘Stand Up’ In Solidarity: A Rally in Support Of The Team Trans* Walk-Out At Netflix” is currently scheduled to begin at 10:30 AM PST at Netflix’s headquarters. Employees have recently sent out a list of demands that they hope to accomplish through the walkout, which was previously reported on The Verge, which you can read below.
“Over the past few weeks, it has become clear that there are many places where Netflix still has to grow when it comes to content relating to the trans and non-binary community. The Trans* Employee Resource Group, which includes trans and non-binary colleagues as well as our numerous allies, wants Netflix to immediately take the steps below to begin to repair the relationship between the Company, our colleagues, and our audience. Specifically, we want the Company to adopt measures in the areas of Content Investment, Employee Relations and Safety, and Harm Reduction, all of which are necessary to avoid future instances of platforming transphobia and hate speech, and to account for the harm we have caused and will continue to cause until the below measures are put in place.
Content Investment
- Create a new fund to specifically develop trans and non-binary talent
- This fund should support both above-the-line (ATL) and below-the-line (BTL) talent;
- This fund should exist in addition to the existing Creative Equity Fund;
- Increase investment in trans and non-binary content on Netflix comparable to our total investment in transphobic content, including marketing and promotion;
- Invest in multiple trans creators to make both scripted and unscripted programs across genres;
- Revise internal processes on commissioning and releasing potential harmful (“sensitive”) content, including but not limited to involving parties who are a part of the subject community and can speak to potential harm, or consulting with 3rd party experts/vendors;
- Increase the ERG role in conversations around potentially harmful content and ensure we have best in class regional support on complicated intersectional diversity issues;
- Hire trans and non-binary content executives, especially BIPOC, in leading positions;
Employee Relations and Safety
- Recruit trans people, especially BIPOC, for leadership roles in the company (Director, VP, etc.) and promote an inclusive environment for them;
- Allow employees to remove themselves from previous company promotional content (e.g. allyship and diversity videos, etc.);
- Eliminate references/imagery of transphobic titles or talent inside of the workplace, including but not limited to murals, posters, room names, swag;
Harm Reduction
- Acknowledge the harm and Netflix’s responsibility for this harm from transphobic content, and in particular harm to the Black trans community;
- Add a disclaimer before transphobic titles that specifically flag transphobic language, misogyny, homophobia, hate speech, etc. as required;
- Boost promotion for Disclosure and other trans-affirming titles in the platform;
- Suggest trans-affirming content alongside and after content flagged as anti-trans.
We are employees, but we are members, too. We believe that this Company can and must do better in our quest to entertain the world, and that the way forward must include more diverse voices in order to avoid causing more harm. The Trans* ERG looks forward to working with the Company to make this a better, more entertaining place for us all.
Sincerely-
Trans* Netflix”