LOS ANGELES — Netflix announced Friday that it fired an employee who disclosed confidential financial information regarding the amount it paid for Dave Chappelle’s comedy special, “The Closer.” Some have condemned it as transphobic.
Netflix stated that the employee was not named and shared “confidential commercially sensitive information” outside of the company.
The statement stated that while we understand that the employee was motivated by Netflix’s disappointment and hurt, maintaining trust and transparency are core values of our company.
The statement stated that the information was mentioned in a Bloomberg news article which reported that Netflix spent $24.1million on “The Closer,” which aired its first episode last week. The article also highlighted the lower budgets used for the 2019 Chapelle special, the Bo Burnham special, and the nine-episode “Squid Game” special.
Netflix claimed that a review of its internal access logs revealed the information to one person who “admitted they downloaded and shared sensitive company data externally.”
“The Closer,” which aired its first episode on Oct. 1, had at least 10,000,000 views. Chapelle’s comments about transgender people drew protests from Netflix and LGBTQ activists.
GLAAD, a media watchdog group, stated that Netflix’s policy of rejecting programs that incite hatred or violence violates its policies.
In an internal memo, Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s co-CEO, stated to managers that the show does not cross the “line on hate” and that it will continue on the streaming site.
A number of Netflix employees, including one who identified as transgender, criticized the special. Employees who identify as transgender and their coworkers are being encouraged to walk out next Wednesday in protest.
According to the Los Angeles Times, “Our leadership has shown them that they don’t uphold the values which we hold dear,” a Monday post was posted on the Slack channel of a public company.
