Netflix Suspends Trans Employee Who Spoke Out Against Dave Chappelle’s Comedy Special on Twitter

A trans employee at Netflix who spoke out against Dave Chappelle’s latest comedy special, The Closer, in a Twitter thread has been suspended.

According to the Verge, Terra Field, a senior software engineer and two other workers were reportedly trying to attend a “director-level” meeting that they weren’t invited to and were subsequently suspended for doing so. However, this consequence has caused many online to question the streaming platform as Field’s suspension came shortly after she sent out a series of tweets calling out the Sticks & Stones comedian for “attacking the trans community and the very validity of transness” in his special.

“I work at @netflix. Yesterday we launched another Chappelle special where he attacks the trans community, and the very validity of transness – all while trying to pit us against other marginalized groups. You’re going to hear a lot of talk about ‘offense.’ We are not offended,” Field wrote in part.

Shortly after Field’s suspension, a Netflix spokesperson told the Verge in a statement: “It is absolutely untrue to say that we have suspended any employee for tweeting about this show. Our employees are encouraged to disagree openly and we support their right to do so.”

Additionally, in an internal email provided to the Verge, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos further elaborated on the special and the company’s dedication to diversity of thought and perspectives, writing:

I wanted to follow up on The Closer – Dave Chappelle’s latest special – as several of you have reached out following QBR asking what to say to your teams. It never feels good when people are hurting, especially our colleagues, so I wanted to give you some additional context. You should also be aware that some talent may join third parties in asking us to remove the show in the coming days, which we are not going to do.

Chappelle is one of the most popular stand-up comedians today, and we have a long standing deal with him. His last special, Sticks & Stones, also controversial, is our most watched, stickiest, and most award winning stand-up special to date. As with our other talent, we work hard to support their creative freedom – even though this means there will always be content on Netflix some people believe is harmful, like Cuties, 365 Days, 13 Reasons Why, or My Unorthodox Life.

Several of you have also asked where we draw the line on hate. We don’t allow titles on Netflix that are designed to incite hate or violence, and we don’t believe The Closer crosses that line. I recognize, however, that distinguishing between commentary and harm is hard, especially with stand-up comedy which exists to push boundaries. Some people find the art of stand-up to be mean-spirited but our members enjoy it, and it’s an important part of our content offering.

He concluded, “In terms of our commitment to inclusion, we’re working hard to ensure more people see their lives reflected on screen and that under-represented communities are not defined by the single story. So we’re proud of titles like Sex Education, Young Royals, Control Z and Disclosure. Externally, particularly in stand-up comedy, artistic freedom is obviously a very different standard of speech than we allow internally as the goals are different: entertaining people versus maintaining a respectful, productive workplace. Today’s conversation on Entertain the World was timely. These are hard and uncomfortable issues. We all bring different values and perspectives so thank you for being part of the conversation as it’s important we’re clear about our operating principles.”