It’s not surprising that some people are overwhelmed by the current saturation of streaming platforms. While it might be understandable for someone to get confused with a Netflix or Amazon series, it’s shocking to hear that a number as large as 20,000 people were so easily confused. It turns out that the Amazon series Good Omens based on the work of Neil Gaiman was enough to spawn a petition to get it shut down. The only problem? The petition is incorrectly directed towards Netflix, not Amazon which is the actual company releasing it.
According to the petition which was started by the Return to Order campaign, the series is “another step to make satanism appear normal, light and acceptable.” They continue to say the series “mocks God’s wisdom.” And, even more bizarrely, the petition states that “this type of video makes light of Truth, Error, Good and Evil, and destroys the barriers of horror that society still has for the devil.”
It’s a hilarious display of how misconstrued information can get across the internet. While the petition would be funny even if they’d directed it towards the correct parties, the fact they wrote Netflix instead of Amazon is just the cherry on top.
Here’s what Neil Gaiman himself had to say:
“I love that they are going to write to Netflix to try and get #GoodOmens cancelled. Says it all really.”
Netflix and Amazon have even jokingly responded:
ok we promise not to make any more https://t.co/TRPux36kcX
— Netflix UK & Ireland (@NetflixUK) June 20, 2019
Hey @netflix, we’ll cancel Stranger Things if you cancel Good Omens. 😉 https://t.co/EJPmi9rL7g
— Amazon Prime Video US (@PrimeVideo) June 20, 2019
The petition has since changed its stance, writing:
Due to an oversight by Return to Order staff, this petition originally listed Netflix as responsible for the offensive series “Good Omens.” Amazon Video released the series on May 31. We regret the mistake, and the protests will be delivered to Amazon when the campaign is complete.
Hopefully people will take this as a lesson to double check what they read on the internet, and consider all possibilities before blindly condemning a television series and its viewers.
In the series:
“This fantasy series sees fussy angel Aziraphale and loose-living demon Crowley team up to form an unlikely duo. The two have become overly fond of life on Earth, and they are forced into forming an alliance in an attempt to stop the approaching Armageddon. To do that, they have to find the missing Antichrist, an 11-year-old boy who is unaware that he is meant to bring the end of days upon humanity.”
Good Omens is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.