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Topics: Netflix
Tom Sanders
Netflix has issued a new memo telling staff members the company 'may not be the best place' for them if they struggle to work on content they find offensive.
The updated ‘culture memo’ states that bosses will not ‘censor specific artists or voices’ even if employees consider the content 'harmful'.
The move is widely seen to be a response to the mass walkout of Netflix employees late last year, when dozens of employees staged a protest in defiance of the streaming giant’s platforming of comedian Dave Chappelle.
The comedian's latest special sparked a fierce backlash in the LGBTQ+ community over jokes he made about the transgender community.
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Staff at the technology company branded Chappelle’s comments as 'hate speech' during their walkout last October and published a list of demands calling on the company to 'avoid future instances of platforming transphobia and hate speech'.
However, their grievances appear to have fallen on deaf ears, as Netflix CEO Reed Hastings went on to publicly side with Chappelle and claimed that the company would continue to work with the comedian.
Now these comments appear to have become enshrined into company policy via an internal memo.
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First reported by Variety, the memo reads: “Entertaining the world is an amazing opportunity and also a challenge because viewers have very different tastes and points of view.
“Not everyone will like - or agree with - everything on our service.
“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.
“Depending on your role, you may need to work on titles you perceive to be harmful.
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“If you’d find it hard to support our content breadth, Netflix may not be the best place for you.”
The memo arrives in the wake of recent comments made by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who claimed that the company had been infected with a “woke mind virus” that was making its programming unwatchable, despite the streaming platform producing the Return To Space documentary widely praising Musk, which premiered in April.
The document also called on workers to reign in corporate spending, asking employees to ‘spend our members’ money wisely’, despite shelling out a reported $24 million on Chappelle's The Closer.
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Netflix has also announced it will not be streaming the comedian’s latest special which saw him attacked by a man on stage.
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