The controversy surrounding Dave Chappell's transphobic remarks in his latest stand-up special continue to grow as the company's co-CEO shared that he "screwed up" in his response to staff but continued to support the comedy show.
Ted Sarandos shared that while storytelling can sometimes negatively impact society, he did not feel Chappelle's "The Closer" needed a disclaimer.
"I should have first and foremost acknowledged in those emails that a group of our employees were in pain, and they were really feeling hurt from a business decision that we made," Sarandos said to The Hollywood Reporter.
In response to the comedy special, a walkout has been organized by Netflix's trans employee resource group. A petition has also been started on Change.org calling for the streaming platform to remove "The Closer." The petition currently has more than 10,000 signatures.
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Will Fletcher started the petition and said, "hate crimes against transgender individuals are on the rise, and celebrating transphobic speech contributes directly to violence."
While those in support of the petition find the special hateful, Sarandos noted that Chappelle followed the tradition of comedians who push boundaries. Sarandos told Variety, "I do not believe it falls into hate speech" because there was no intent to harm.
The protest is because of complaints about Chappelle's jokes about trans people and his re-alignment with those who think that a human's sex at birth is not changeable. Employees shared that this can lead to violence against marginalized communities.
Netflix has also been criticized after a trans software engineer, Terra Field, was one of three employees suspended for joining a virtual quarterly meeting with top executives without an invitation.
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After the backlash for their suspension, they were reinstated, the Hollywood Reporter reported. However, on Friday, the company fired an unnamed employee who leaked how much the comedy special made and its viewership.
"Unfortunately, trans people are currently facing increased hostility from all directions, and Netflix has chosen to give a platform to this hate. Despite claiming to be a home for LGBT+ media, this isn't the first time they have allowed hate on their platform, specifically from Dave Chapelle," Fletcher responded in a statement to Change.org.
The walkout is scheduled to take place on Wednesday in protest of the special and Sarando's comments defending "The Closer."
