Netflix Employees Stage Walkout

Netflix employees took part in an office walkout yesterday (October 20), in an ongoing protest against Dave Chappelle’s standup special, The Closer.

Chappelle’s special debuted on the platform on October 5. The comedian sparked outrage with his routine as some jokes were considered transphobic and homophobic.

Now, according to Variety, Netflix employees joined with supporters outside the streamer’s Los Angeles headquarters.

Ahead of the protest, Netflix issued a statement of support: “We value our trans colleagues and allies, and understand the deep hurt that’s been caused. 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.”

Protestors compiled a list of demands for the streamer, demanding Netflix invest more money on trans and non-binary content and offered more support to trans and non-binary creators.

B. Pagels-Minor spoke at the protest, “I want my child to grow up in a world where they see that their parent, a Black trans person because I exist contrary to what the special says, contrary to what many people say, that I am valued and that I am an important person.”

Pagels-Minor, who identifies as non-binary, was fired by Netflix after the company accused them of leaking viewership data for The Closer to Bloomberg.

Supporters of Dave Chappelle staged a counter-protest. Holding signs reading “Jokes Are Funny” and “Netflix Don’t Cancel Free Speech”, Chappelle’s supporters said they were fighting for the freedom of speech and comedy.

“This boils down to equality, and if people want equality they need to be put on the same level as anybody else,” said Chappelle supporter, Gigi LaRoux.

“Comedians are equal opportunity destroyers. You can’t pick and choose who you’re going to make fun of.”

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