Netflix CEO Defends Dave Chappelle and Ricky Gervais's Transphobia (Again)

[Behind the Aegis]

Netflix has been having a rough go of it lately, thanks to a dismal first quarter that saw the streaming service lose over 200,000 subscribers. The company found itself in hot water again last week after it debuted Ricky Gervais’s new standup special SuperNature, in which the comedian makes some pretty heinous transphobic jokes. But in a recent interview with the New York Times, CEO Ted Sarandos defended the streamer’s decision to put out specials by comics like Gervais and Dave Chappelle that include controversial jokes about trans people.

“I believe it’s very important to the American culture generally to have free expression,” Sarandos told the publication. “We’re programming for a lot of diverse people who have different opinions and different tastes and different styles, and yet we’re not making everything for everybody. We want something for everybody, but everything’s not going to be for everybody.”

Sarandos also defended the decision to continue working with Chappelle after his controversial special The Closer, insisting the choice was a no-brainer for him.

“It was an opportunity to take somebody, like in Dave’s case, who is, by all measure, the comedian of our generation, the most popular comedian on Netflix for sure,” he said. “Nobody would say that what he does isn’t thoughtful or smart. You just don’t agree with him.”

one paragraph left....

Shocker!

Though, I will say something, quite harsh, some "allies" will attack Gervais for transphobia in a way they wouldn't dare when it came to Chapelle.

[IngridsLittleAngel]

1. Of course he did

Ted Sarandos has made it clear he's transphobic bigoted trash - not only in airing this, but doing everything he can to stifle dissent and protest against this transphobic "comedy".

How many donations have you made to Drumpf and the QOP, Ted?

I am not a Netflix subscriber. As long as Sarnados is in charge and this is their idea of "comedy", I won't give them one cent. I do not fund my haters and those who seek to oppress me.

[patricia92243]

2. Sorry to hear that about Ricky. He was one of my favorites. He has gone too

far this time.

[ShazzieB]

3. Transphobia is just a matter of opinion? Really? 🙄

Dude, some things are just plain wrong! Whether it's acceptable to insult and make fun of certain kinds of people just for being who they are is NOT a matter of opinion.

I guess such such things don't matter to people like Ted Sarandos as long as lots of money is being made. Some people will defend all kinds of things as long as those things are good for their bottom line. What a jerk.

[IngridsLittleAngel]

4. We have idiots in this country who want to "both sides" and "embrace debate" on everything...

There are people in this country who gladly want to believe there is room for "debate" or "shades of grey" or "agreeing to disagree" on things like slavery, the Holocaust, Hitler, human rights... Hell, we've had to listen to them foam at the mouth since November 2020 because the election didn't go how they wanted.

So, yes. We sadly have people (like Ted Sarandos) who want to dismiss the hateful rants of Chappelle and Gervais as "opinions". They're not. The rants are hate speech intended to dehumanize someone they view as "different", "inferior", etc...

Something tells me if I went on a rant trying to dehumanize Ted Sarandos, he wouldn't see it as "opinion".. But that's usually the case with people like him. They're great at dishing it out but can never take it.

What makes Sarandos' words even more empty and pathetic, though, is the fact that he's done everything he can to stop employees from speaking out and protesting Chappelle, and probably now Gervais. He sure loves "opinions"... so long as it's from one side. Those supporting and standing with the trans community during these vicious attacks? Naw, they can keep their opinions to themselves.

Some of us can only come to the conclusion that trans people don't matter at all to Ted Sarandos. Making money off transphobia is just the icing on the cake for him.

[vercetti2021]

5. Hope Netflix crashes and burns

Already did my part cancelling my subscription. Jokes are jokes. But these aren't jokes. It's just two dumbasses complaining about a community