Netflix To Woke Staffers: Quit If You Don't Like It

In light of internal dissension triggered by productions like Dave Chappelle’s controversial stand-up special, Netflix has reportedly issued a memo to its disgruntled staffers, underscoring that the streaming behemoth values the “artistic expression” of its content creators over each employee’s personal thoughts, beliefs and lifestyles. 

And any worker who doesn’t like it can ’Flix off. 

“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 memo, titled “Netflix Culture — Seeking Excellence.”

Depending on your role, you may need to work on titles you perceive to be harmful,” the communiqué continued. “If you’d find it hard to support our content breadth, Netflix may not be the best place for you.”

Dave Chappelle

The note, dispatched Thursday, follows ongoing personnel protests of Chappelle’s barbs regarding transgender individuals in the Netflix special “The Closer,” which debuted on the digital platform in October. 

During his hourlong chuckle fest, Chappelle, 48, fired off a string of wisecracks about trans women’s genitalia, insisted that “gender is a fact” and deemed the LGBTQ+ community “too sensitive.”

Shortly after the show’s premiere, vexed Netflix staff members staged a walkout in an effort to demonstrate their collective disapproval of the comedian’s digs. 

But the mutiny failed to sway Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos, who maintained his support of Chappelle and continued to air the special.  

And as a warning to any remaining discontented cogs, the company’s freshly distributed letter underlined its commitment to prioritizing artistic expression.   

“Entertaining the world is an amazing opportunity and also a challenge because viewers have very different tastes and points of view,” stated the lengthy proclamation. “So we offer a wide variety of TV shows and movies, some of which can be provocative.”

“Depending on your role, you may need to work on titles you perceive to be harmful.”

“To help members make informed choices about what to watch,” it added, “we offer ratings, content warnings and easy to use parental controls.”

And although the streaming giant acknowledged that its content may be problematic for some viewers, it remains firm that it will not silence the voices of its artists.