Trans Netflix Workers Plan Walkout To Protest Dave Chappelle's 'The Closer'

Transgender employees of Netflix NFLX and their workplace allies are planning a one-day walkout on Oct. 20 to protest the streaming service’s presentation of “The Closer,” the new stand-up comedy special from Dave Chappelle.

What Happened: The Los Angeles Times reported the Netflix employee resource group Trans* and their supporters will use Oct. 20 as a “day of rest” in response to what they perceived to be transphobic and homophobic comments made by Chappelle, which was defended by co-CEO and Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos as falling under the category of “artistic freedom.”

“I encourage all [members of] Trans* and allies not to work for Netflix that day,” said a message posted on the company’s Slack channel to a group of 800 staffers representing “gender minorities of all sorts and their allies.”

The Slack organizing message added that the Netflix “leadership has shown us that they do not uphold the values for which we are held. Between the numerous emails and non-answers that have been given, we have been told explicitly that we somehow cannot understand the nuance of certain content. I don’t know about you, but asking for us to show the whole story and not just the pieces that harm trans and [LGBTQ+] people is not an unreasonable ask.”

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What Else Happened: The walkout follows news that three Netflix employees — including senior software engineer Terra Field, who self-identifies as transgender — were suspended for their uninvited entrance into an executive quarterly business review to protest the Chappelle special. The employees have since been reinstated.

Despite protests from LGBTQ organizations and activists about the content of “The Closer,” Netflix has shown no signs of removing the program from its line-up. Chappelle has dismissed the complaints against him with scatological humor.

Photo: Netflix.