Netflix has reportedly issued a memo to its woke workers following internal dissension triggered by Dave Chappelle’s controversial stand-up special.
In the memo titled “Netflix Culture — Seeking Excellence,” the streaming giant remained firm in its commitment to prioritizing artistic expression.
“As employees we support the principle that Netflix offers a diversity of stories, even if we find some titles counter to our own personal values,” read the lengthy memorandum.
“Depending on your role, you may need to work on titles you perceive to be harmful,” the memo continued. “If you’d find it hard to support our content breadth, Netflix may not be the best place for you.”
This comes as protests continue over Chappelle’s harmless joke toward transgender individuals in his Netflix special, “The Closer,” which came out in October.
During his hour-long stand up film, the veteran comedian riffed off about trans women’s genitalia, insisted that “gender is a fact” and called the queer community “too sensitive.”
Staff members staged a walkout shortly after the special’s premiere in an effort to take it off the streaming service.
However, the mutiny failed after Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos sided with Chappelle and refused to remove his special.
“Entertaining the world is an amazing opportunity and also a challenge because viewers have very different tastes and points of view,” stated the telegram. “So we offer a wide variety of TV shows and movies, some of which can be provocative.”
“To help members make informed choices about what to watch,” the communique continued. “We offer ratings, content warnings and easy to use parental controls.”
The streamer also acknowledged that some of its content may be problematic but affirmed that they will never silence their creators.
“Not everyone will like — or agree with — everything on our service,” said Netflix. “While every title is different, we approach them based on the same set of principles: we support the artistic expression of the creators we choose to work with; we program for a diversity of audiences and tastes; and we let viewers decide what’s appropriate for them, versus having Netflix censor specific artists or voices.”
Netflix recently suffered a loss of 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2022 and expects to see an additional decrease of 2 million audience members over the next four months.
