Trans pan of comic
Protesting N’flix staff faces off against Chappelle fans
Transgender-rights activists squared off against Dave Chappelle fans and freespeech advocates outside Netflix’s California offices Wednesday, the latest fallout from the comedian’s controversial Netflix special “The Closer.”
The rally, which garnered roughly 100 to 200 people, kicked off with chants of “Trans Lives Matter” and “Transphobia is no joke.” But the protesting Netflix employees soon clashed with another contingent chanting, “We Like Jokes,” and carrying signs that said “We Like Dave.”
Employees calling themselves “Team Trans” gathered on Vine Street at Netflix’s 600,000-square-foot campus in Hollywood, where they gave speeches charging that Chappelle’s special ridiculed transgender people, saying they planned to present chief content officer Ted Sarandos with a “list of asks.”
Ashlee Preston Murray, a black trans woman who organized the rally, kicked off the event, saying that she was speaking out because Netflix employees have been “gagged” by “higher-ups” at the company. She claimed she had invited Chappelle to speak, but was turned down.
“This isn’t an instance of cancel culture because I’ve invited Dave Chappelle to have a dialogue with us,” Murray said. But another protester who identified herself as Gigi LaRoux, defended Chappelle and Netflix, according to Variety.
“This boils down to equality . . . Comedians are equalopportunity destroyers. You can’t pick and choose who you’re going to make fun of.”
In the weeks leading up to the walkout, Netflix faced mounting criticism from
employees amid suspensions and statements from the company defending Chappelle’s “creative freedom.”
On Tuesday, Sarandos admitted he “screwed up” his response to the fallout.
“What I should have led with in those e-mails was humanity,” Sarandos told The Wall Street Journal.
“I should have recognized the fact that a group of our employees was really hurting.”
Earlier Wednesday, Netflix sought to strike a more conciliatory tone.
“We respect the decision of any employee who chooses to walk out, and recognize we have much more work to do both within Netflix and in our content,” a company spokesperson said.