Netflix’s Ted Sarandos Stands by Dave Chappelle’s ‘The Closer’ as Employees Plan Walkout

As controversy surrounding Dave Chappelle‘s new stand-up special The Closer builds (and some employees reportedly plan a walkout next week to protest Chappelle’s comments about the trans community), Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos stood by the comedian in a new memo sent to staff members on Monday (per Variety).

“We know that a number of you have been left angry, disappointed, and hurt by our decision to put Dave Chappelle’s latest special on Netflix,” Sarandos wrote.

He noted that many people are concerned that Chappelle’s comments potentially increased “real world harm,” although he didn’t mention the trans community directly. “While some employees disagree, we have a strong belief that content on screen doesn’t directly translate to real-world harm,” Sarandos continued. “Adults can watch violence, assault, and abuse — or enjoy stand-up comedy — without it causing harm to others.”

The opposite sentiment is shared in the 2020 Netflix documentary Disclosure, which examines how Hollywood’s depiction of trans people has directly impacted both the trans community and American culture in general. Sarandos’ comments come after the Human Rights Campaign’s 2020 report recorded a record number of violent deaths suffered by trans and gender nonconforming people, the highest rate since the group began tracking these deaths in 2013.

Bloomberg reports that some Netflix staffers voiced concerns about The Closer days before it premiered, particularly “that a series of jokes about gender-neutral pronouns and the genitalia of transgender people was potentially inflammatory and damaging.”

At least one thousand of the streamer’s employees are expected to participate in a virtual walkout in order to protest Sarandos’ recent support of Chappelle, as well as the company’s controversial suspension of three since-reinstated employees — including one trans engineer — who attended an executive meeting to speak out against The Closer (per The Verge).

LGBTQ+ media monitoring organization GLAAD released a statement in response to Sarandos’ latest comments: “GLAAD was founded 36 years ago because media representation has consequences for LGBTQ people. Film & TV have been filmed with stereotypes and misinformation about us, leading to real world harm, especially for trans people & LGBTQ people of color.”