Those who participated in the Netflix walkout in protest of Dave Chappelle's latest comedy special have revealed their complete list of demands. The comedian first rose to fame for his popular sketch series Chappelle's Show, but has recently been gaining notoriety for his stand-up specials on Netflix. Chappelle signed a deal with the streaming service in 2016 to produce a total of six specials, the last of which, The Closer, was released earlier this month.
Throughout the special, Chappelle pokes fun at his reputation by jokingly referring to himself as transphobic. He defends Harry Potter author, J.K. Rowling, who has been accused of similar sentiments, and shares a story about a transgender comedian who committed suicide after allegedly suffering online harassment for defending him. Chappelle ends his act with a plea to the LGBTQ+ community to stop punching down at comedians. The special was met with immediate backlash, and last week, news broke that trans Netflix employees and their allies were planning a walkout in protest.
Now, Netflix employees have moved forward with their walkout and rally, which over 100 protesters participated in. While their demands weren't initially clear, organizers read out a list of asks that will be presented to Netflix's CEO Ted Sarandos, including removing all references and imagery of Chappelle inside the workplace, acknowledgment that The Closer has caused harm to the trans community, and more investment in trans content on the platform. Read the the protesters' full list of demands below, per Deadline:
- Eliminate references/imagery of Chappelle inside of the workplace, including but not limited to murals, posters, room names, swag;
- Acknowledgement that the special causes harm to the trans community and Netflix’s responsibility on it so we keep the conversation around transphobia evolving internally;
- Trans and non-binary content investment
- Investment in trans or non-binary content on Netflix comparable to our total investment in transphobic content, including comparable investment in the promotion of content
- The comparable class of investments should include but not be limited to works produced by Dave Chappelle (such as the investment in “The Closer” and “Sticks and Stones”), Ricky Gervais’ After Life, etc.
- Investment in multiple trans creators to make both scripted and unscripted programs across genres;
- Revisit internal processes on commissioning and/or releasing potential harmful content, involving numerous and diverse parties that can speak on its harm, including consultation on 3rd party venders;
- Revisit the ERG role in conversations around potential harmful content and develop materials to ensure we have the best in class regional support on complicated diversity issues
- Hire transgender content executives in leading positions and promote and inclusive environment for them;
- Recruit trans people for leadership roles in the company (director, VP, etc) and promote and inclusive environment for them;
- The ability for Trans* employees and allies to be able to remove themselves from company promotional content (e.g. allyship videos, etc.);
- A disclaimer before The Closer specifically saying it contains transphobic language, misogyny, homophobia, and hate speech;
- Boost promotion for Disclosure and other trans-affirming titles in the platform
Throughout the controversy, Sarandos has remained adamant that Netflix won't be removing the special, citing the streamer's commitment to creative freedom, which has only fueled the controversy further. On the same day as the walkout, Sarandos did express some regret regarding how he has handled the situation. However, he did not waver in his position that Chappelle's special does not cross the line into hate speech.
Chappelle has sparred with the LGBTQ+ community in the past, referring to them as "the alphabet people" in his previous special, Stick & Stones, one of a few jokes that were met with disapproval, but many feel he has crossed a line with The Closer. Sarandos clearly disagrees, which has caused significant strife at Netflix. Their CEO has yet to respond to the protestors' list of demands, but he will likely have to address at least a few of them if he wishes to heal the divide that Chappelle's special has caused within the company.
Source: Deadline