by Thinus Ferreira
With Netflix once again facing public criticism its boss Ted Sarandos is telling the video streaming service's staffers that the latest dangerously transphobic Dave Chappelle comedy special isn't hate-speech, with Netflix that has suspended three of its employees who complained about the content and who are criticising Netflix, including a trans person.
Ted Sarandos says Netflix talent in coming days may join growing calls for the Dave Chappelle comedy content to be removed, that Ted Sarandos says "we are not going to do".
Netflix has also suspended Terra Field, a Netflix senior software engineer based in San Francisco who is a trans person, and who is one of three people who attended a virtual meeting for Netflix top bosses and who criticised the company for the Dave Chappelle comedy special.
Netflix suspended them and has launched an investigation into their actions.
Dave Chapelle accuses the trans community of having "thin skin" in his The Closer comedy special on Netflix amongst other things.
Various American organisations like GLAAD, the National Black Justice Coalition and others have issued statements, saying that Netflix's latest Dave Chappelle content is damaging, hurtful, dismissive and cruel.
In public tweets, Terra Field wrote that Netflix "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 says that "our existence is 'funny' to him – and when we object to his harm, we're 'offended' ".
Ted Sarandos, Netflix co-CEO, in a memo sent to Netflix staffers on Friday, says "there will also be content on Netflix some people believe is harmful" and that Netflix won't remove the controversial content.
"Chapelle is one of the most popular stand-up comedians today, and we have a long standing deal with him. His last special Sticks & Stones, also controversial, is our most watched, stickiest and most award-winning stand-up special to date."
"As with our other talent, we work hard to support their creative freedom - even though this means there will always be content on Netflix some people believe is harmful, like Cuties, 365 Days, 13 Reasons Why or My Unorthodox Life."
"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."
Read Ted Sarandos' memo to Netflix staffers below in full:
"I wanted to follow up on The Closer – Dave Chappelle’s latest special – as several of you have reached out following QBR asking what to say to your teams."
"It never feels good when people are hurting, especially our colleagues, so I wanted to give you some additional context. You should also be aware that some talent may join third parties in asking us to remove the show in the coming days, which we are not going to do."
"Chappelle is one of the most popular stand-up comedians today, and we have a long standing deal with him. His last special, Sticks & Stones, also controversial, is our most watched, stickiest, and most award winning stand-up special to date."
"As with our other talent, we work hard to support their creative freedom – even though this means there will always be content on Netflix some people believe is harmful, like Cuties, 365 Days, 13 Reasons Why, or My Unorthodox Life."
"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 recognise, 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."
"In terms of our commitment to inclusion, we're working hard to ensure more people see their lives reflected on screen and that under-represented communities are not defined by the single story. So we're proud of titles like Sex Education, Young Royals, Control Z and Disclosure."
"Externally, particularly in stand-up comedy, artistic freedom is obviously a very different standard of speech than we allow internally as the goals are different: entertaining people versus maintaining a respectful, productive workplace."
"Today's conversation on Entertain the World was timely. These are hard and uncomfortable issues. We all bring different values and perspectives so thank you for being part of the conversation as it's important we're clear about our operating principles."
"-Ted"
