It's been a rollercoaster week for Netflix. As the streaming giant continues to bask in the success of Squid Game, it must also contend with the ongoing blowback from The Closer, Dave Chapelle's recent special that has drawn the ire of transgender employees.
A coordinated protest scheduled for Wednesday saw staffers engage in a virtual workout while promoting trans charities. It's timed with a public rally organized by activist Ashlee Marie Preston, which is taking place outside of Netflix's office on Vine St.
Jameela Jamil, Colton Haynes, Elliot Page, and other actors also lent their support to the protest in a video released this morning while Netflix employees and supporters took to Twitter to promote the cause. They asked supporters not to use Netflix today in solidarity for the walkout.
I stand with the trans, nonbinary, and BIPOC employees at Netflix fighting for more and better trans stories and a more inclusive workplace #NetflixWalkout https://t.co/LU8FPSBdwE
— Elliot Page (@TheElliotPage) October 20, 2021
#NetflixWalkout If you're not standing up for trans lives, you need to take a good look at who you ARE standing with. Good luck today everybody! ⚡️🎸⚡️
— Lilly Wachowski (@lilly_wachowski) October 20, 2021
The walkout follows a list of demands released by Netflix employees, which includes a new fund for trans and non-binary talent, harm reduction, and employee safety. The full list was published in a letter obtained by The Verge.
In preparation for the walkout, Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos spoke with multiple outlets including Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, where he offered a public mea culpa and said that he "should have led with a lot more humanity."
"Obviously, I screwed up that internal communication," Sarandos told Variety. "Meaning, I had a group of employees who were definitely feeling pain and hurt from a decision we made. And I think that needs to be acknowledged up front before you get into the nuts and bolts of anything. I didn’t do that. That was uncharacteristic for me, and it was moving fast and we were trying to answer some really specific questions that were floating. We landed with some things that were much more blanket and matter-of-fact that are not at all accurate."
However, Sarandos says there are no plans to remove Chapelle's special from Netflix.
Chapelle's special first came under fire for targeting the trans community, with the comedian declaring himself "team TERF," slang for a disparate collection of anti-trans groups, among other assertions. The special quickly drew fire from workers, leading to the suspension of one employee and the firing of another.
"I want to make it clear, this situation isn't about Dave Chapelle," wrote one employee in the run-up to today's walkout, "it's about Netflix doing better."
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Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN