Netflix Fires Transgender Employee on Charges of Leaking Sensitive Internal Information

Last week, Netflix fired an employee of the trans employee resource group citing that the employee leaked confidential and financially sensitive information related to Dave Chappell’s recently released special, “The Closer”, outside the company. This move comes on the heels of the company’s transgender employees, along with the person mentioned above organizing a walkout on October 20 to protest the statements made by the company’s co-CEO, Ted Sarandos, about Chappell’s special.

In a statement, Netflix said, “We have let go of an employee for sharing confidential, commercially sensitive information outside the company,” they said. “We understand this employee may have been motivated by disappointment and hurt with Netflix, but maintaining a culture of trust and transparency is core to our company.”

The leaked information seems to be internal metrics related to “The Closer” that appeared on Bloomberg. The media company had reported thatOpens a new window Netflix spent $24.1 million on the special, $3.9 million on Bo Burnham’s comedy special “Inside”, and $24.1 million on the blockbuster series “Squid Game”. The leak may have been done to embarrass Netflix and point out that the platform had paid more for Chappell’s controversial content than other better-performing programs.

See more: #AppleToo: Turmoil in the Apple

The Walkout — A Brief Background

Dave Chappell, the well-known stand-up comedian, had been cracking jokes about the LGBTQ+ communities in his recent segments. In his latest Netflix special, “The Closer”Opens a new window , released on October 5, Chappell continued cracking jokes about the community. The next day, Terra Field, a software engineer at Netflix, took to Twitter, criticizing Chappell’s jokes, which quickly went viral. Field was suspended on other charges and later reinstated. The special also sparked a massive controversy in the company, and employees started asking the company questions about transphobia.

I work at @netflixOpens a new window . Yesterday we 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 (@RainofTerra) October 7, 2021Opens a new window

GLAADOpens a new window , a media watchdog group, and the National Black Justice CoalitionOpens a new window condemned the special, calling it transphobic. They also demanded that Netflix remove it from its offerings immediately and apologize to the transgender groups. To add to this, Jaclyn Moore, the producer of the Netflix series “Dear White People,” said on TwitterOpens a new window that she would boycott the platform “as long as they continue to put out and profit from blatantly and dangerously transphobic content.”

On October 8, Sarandos had responded to these questions and concerns in an internal email. He said, “It never feels good when people are hurting, especially our colleagues. 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.”

He further said, “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.”

The complete email released to The Verge can be found hereOpens a new window .

Miffed by his defense of the comedian and the special, many trans employees had planned to stage a walkout. Sarandos had also mentioned lesbian comedian Hannah Gadsby’s work “Nanette” as part of the platform’s efforts to be inclusive of marginalized communities. However, Gadsby spoke out againstOpens a new window Sarandos’s attempt to consider her the figurehead of the community’s inclusivity on the platform.

See more: LGBTQ+ Employees Are Less Satisfied Than Their Co-Workers at Workplace: Glassdoor Report

Why This Matters

In recent times, there has been a worldwide discussion and realization of being sensitive to the sentiments of marginalized communities and being inclusive of them in organizations. At the same time, a recent Glassdoor report also found that LGBTQ+ employees are less satisfied at work than others.

How this firing of a trans employee during this sensitive time will affect the company is yet to be seen.

What do you think of how Netflix has handled the situation around Dave Chappell’s special? Let us know on LinkedInOpens a new window , FacebookOpens a new window , and TwitterOpens a new window .