Netflix Big Boss Admits Wrong By Purge for Transgender Jokes TV News

Ted Sarandos, Co-CEO and a VIP at Netflix, he admitted that he made a mistake after a “wipe” Transgender jokes made by Dave Chappelle In closing special (The Closer), the recent partnership between the comedian and streaming service.

At that time, in an internal communication sent to the company’s employees, Sarandos suggested that it be Chappelle’s comments do not “directly reflect the damage done in real life”. After his position was publicly leaked, the executive branch was subjected to numerous criticisms.

The internal fallout was negative and brought together transgender staff from Netflix, artists from the LGBTQIA+ community, and supporters of the movement against Sarandos and Chappelle. In an interview with Deadline, the leader of the broadcasting giant admitted its failure.

“First, immediately,” he said, “I mistook the internals — not just mechanical. He was passing. I say this because I respect them so much and love their contributions to Netflix.”

Sarandos noted that the fact that the internal statement was leaked hampered the company’s progress in the case. According to him, this was an unprecedented situation within Netflix.

“We are in uncharted territory here, we have never received internal emails that have been leaked to the press before, and I would say the problem with that is that there is a conversation going on. This is an email and it came out as a big statement.”

Regarding the content reproduced in the script, the CEO reiterated his mistake in not connecting Chappelle’s character to the real world, and added that that’s not his view of things — let alone Netflix’s.

The big statement should have been that the narrative clearly has an impact on the real world, sometimes positive and sometimes negative. That’s why I work here, this content can really make the world a better place through storytelling and screen acting and all that stuff. So it was an oversimplification and didn’t go down like it should. He came out with a very general statement that storytelling has no effect on the real world, the opposite of anything you said, thought, or felt.

After the controversy involving Sarandos and Chappelle, the group formed by Netflix employees and artists organized a peaceful protest in front of the platform’s headquarters, in the United States. About the decision to keep the comedian featured in the unedited catalog, the executive said he has no regrets.

“Comedy improvisation is a very unique form of sound art. Comedians test material for up to two years before their own recording, so we don’t really get into and meddle in the material itself. Kind of improvisational comedy and definitely in keeping with Chappelle’s mood, so no I think a warning or modification would be appropriate.”