Netflix employees are planning a strike for Dave Chappelle.


Two weeks after the release of Dave Chappelle’s stand-up special “The Closer” on Netflix, the broadcast giant is still grappling with internal backlash as a group of employees prepare to hold a virtual strike Wednesday.

The strike is the latest episode of employee unrest, leading to tough news coverage surrounding the special and normally targeting other tech companies like Facebook and Google.

Many Netflix employees have been criticized by Mr Chappelle’s special for being transphobic and harmful to trans people. Netflix’s CEOs, Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos, are committed to supporting Netflix. Mr Chappelle on multiple communications He argued that along with the staff and that his special episode was popular with subscribers, it wouldn’t cause real-world harm.

A rally was scheduled for Wednesday morning outside Netflix’s Los Angeles headquarters to “start” the strike, according to a social media post. publicize the protest. Activists and public figures will be present at the rally and, according to the post, a “definitive list of demands” will be sent to Mr. Sarandos.

A Netflix employee, Terra Field, is an outspoken software engineer in his opposition to “The Closer.” wrote a blog post on On Monday, Medium detailing Mr Chappelle’s “hurricane” experience since his special section posted a viral message that said it “attacks the trans community and the validity of being trans”.

In the post, transgender Ms. Field said she did not want “The Closer” removed from Netflix. Instead, he hoped administrators would take concrete steps, including “stopping pretending that transphobia in the media has no effect on society.” Field said he hopes Netflix will add a warning to “The Closer” and other series on the streaming service that have been criticized as transphobic, and introduce “other queer and trans content after people consume this content.”

For “The Closer,” Ms. Field wrote: “It doesn’t feel good to be working for the company that put it there. Especially when we’ve spent years creating the company’s policies and benefits so that it’s a great place for trans people to work.

“If someone has to betray their community to do that, a place can’t be a great place to work,” he added.

already have a few moments of tension Among ordinary Netflix employees and senior executives lately. At an emotional company-wide meeting on Friday, several employees asked Mr. Sarandos tough and persistent questions about the specialty product and the company’s response to criticism of it. After the meeting ended, Netflix said it fired an employee for leaking documents to the news media.

“We understand that this employee is disappointed and hurt by Netflix, but maintaining a culture of trust and transparency is at the core of our company,” a company representative said.

Nicole Sperling contributing reporting.



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