Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos claims he ‘spoiled’ his workers when he wrote defense memos Dave Chappellecontroversial special of The Closer and denying claims that the show was transphobic.
But Sarandos, 57, also discussed his ‘stance’ on the special in an interview on Tuesday Diversity As he claims it ‘has not changed,’ and resists calls to pull it from service.
He apologized after a controversial memo written to staff that claimed Chappelle’s “content does not directly translate to real-world harm,” with the funnyman insisting that “gender is a fact” and supporting JK Rowling but for his thoughts transgender People.
Sarandos made his remarks on October 20, the eve of a planned walkout by transgender Netflix employees and their supporters. It is not clear whether the walkout will go ahead as planned.
The Netflix co-CEO admitted he was “spoiled” in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter when he sent memos to streaming service employees claiming that the content of Dave Chappelle’s special The Closer was “real-world”. does not directly translate into losses.’
Dave Chappelle’s special The Closer received controversy from the LGBTQ+ community and its allies for his ‘transphobic’ comments that were made during the special
In the interview, Sarandos was asked if his attitude on the special had changed after the criticism he received for the memo.
‘No, my stand has not changed,’ he said. ‘I can tell you that I screwed up those communications in two ways.’
‘One of them was, I should have acknowledged first and foremost in those emails that a group of our employees were in pain, and they felt really hurt by the business decision we made.
‘And I, instead of admitting it at first, I went right into some of the arguments.
‘And so first of all, I would say there is a lack of humanity in those emails, which I love and I usually communicate with on our teams.’
He also noted that the message in the email was ‘out of context’ and was part of an ongoing conversation about the impact of onscreen content.
“I believe 100 percent that content on screen can have positive and negative effects in the real world,” he said.
The interviewer also examined questions on Sarandos’ stance on the special, and Grilled still wanted to know if this had changed since the controversy.
Trans employees and allies with streaming service plan walkout on October 20 in response to memo and controversial special
‘When we think about the challenge we have to entertain the world, part of that challenge means you have audiences with different tastes, different sensibilities, different beliefs.
‘You can’t really please everyone or the content will be too monotonous. And we’ve already told our employees that we’re trying to entertain our members, and there’s some content on Netflix that you’re not going to like, and so there’s a lot to be said for artistic expression and free artistic expression. commitment is sometimes in conflict. People are feeling safe and secure.
‘I think it’s something we struggle with all the time when these two values clash against each other.’
Sarandos was also asked how he would meet the artistic demands of the protesters at the trans walkout.
“Going forward, I want to make sure everyone understands that we at Netflix are deeply committed to supporting artistic freedom with the creators we work with.
‘We are deeply committed to increasing representation on screen and behind the camera, and we will always learn and improve the way we meet these challenges.’
Former Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings was fired after leaking that the company paid $24.1 million for the special
Chappelle’s special temporarily suspended three Netflix employees after participating in a virtual executive meeting without authorization.
An unnamed employee was also fired for leaking that Chappell was paid $24.1 million for the special.
Chappell supported writer JK Rowling on her comments on gender, saying that ‘gender is a fact’, and declared ‘I Team TERF’. TERF stands for Trans-Exclusive Radical Feminist.
The term is commonly used by some trans people and their allies to attack others who disagree with parts of their call for equality for transgender people.
Flashpoints include the inclusion of trans women in women’s prisons and domestic violence shelters, and whether trans female athletes should be allowed to compete against non-trans women in certain sports because of a perceived biological advantage.
Sarandos further lambasted the Chappelle special, angering activists who have demanded that Netflix produce more trans-related content.
He added that the streaming giant was “working hard to ensure that marginalized communities are not defined by a single story” specifically “We Have Sex Education, Orange Is the New Black, Control Z, Hannah Gadsby”. And Dave Chappelle is all on Netflix. The key is to increase diversity within the content team itself.
He also addressed these concerns in the memoranda mentioned earlier.
“We know that our decision to put Dave Chappelle’s latest special on Netflix has left many of you outraged, disappointed and hurt,” Sarandos wrote in the email. Diversity.
With “The Closer,” we understand that the concern is not about offensive-to-nothing content, but about titles that can exacerbate real-world harm (such as hate speech from already marginalized groups, , further marginalizing violence etc.)
‘Last year, we heard similar concerns about 365 Days and violence against women. While some employees disagree, we firmly believe that content on screen does not directly harm the real world,’ he continued.
The movie 365 Days, referenced by Sarandos, is about an Italian mafia boss who kidnaps a woman he is fascinated by and demands that she spend the next year at his villa.
The film was criticized by sexual assault survivors, with singer Duffy writing in an open letter to CEO and co-founder Reed Hastings that it ‘glamorizes the brutal reality of sex trafficking, kidnapping and rape.’
Sarandos’s memo continued, ‘The strongest evidence to support this is that violence on screen has increased tremendously over the past thirty years, especially with first party shooter games, and yet violent crime has declined significantly in many countries. .
“Adults can watch violence, assault and abuse, or enjoy shocking stand-up comedy—that doesn’t harm others,” he said.
The memo was heavily criticized by LGBTQ+ watchdog group GLAAD, which advocates realistic and authentic portrayals of the community.
“Authentic media stories about LGBTQ life have been directly attributed to increasing public support for issues like marriage equality,” he told Variety.
“But film and TV have also been filled with stereotypes and misinformation about us for decades, causing real-world damage, especially for trans people and LGBTQ people of color. Ironically, the documentary ‘Disclosure’ on Netflix demonstrates this quite clearly.’
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