With cancel culture on the rise, it might be easy to believe massive companies like Netflix would want to avoid any possible backlash. On the contrary, however, Netflix has just released a new memo that specifically targets rebellious employees. According to the streaming giant, if any of their employees are offended, then they’re welcomed to leave.
This memo was shared via Variety, and they suggested it might be in response to Dave Chappelle’s The Closer. Many viewers found the special quite offensive, and despite this, Netflix stood by him. Now they seem to be doubling down on their stance in the newly-released memo.
As you can read in the memo delivered by Netflix below:
“Entertaining the world is an amazing opportunity and also a challenge because viewers have very different tastes and points of view. So we offer a wide variety of TV shows and movies, some of which can be provocative. To help members make informed choices about what to watch, we offer ratings, content warnings and easy to use parental controls.
Not everyone will like — or agree with — everything on our service. While every title is different, we approach them based on the same set of principles: we support the artistic expression of the creators we choose to work with; we program for a diversity of audiences and tastes; and we let viewers decide what’s appropriate for them, versus having Netflix censor specific artists or voices.
As employees we support the principle that Netflix offers a diversity of stories, even if we find some titles counter to our own personal values. Depending on your role, you may need to work on titles you perceive to be harmful. If you’d find it hard to support our content breadth, Netflix may not be the best place for you.”
This is definitely an interesting message. While Netflix has promoted diversity and progressiveness in the past, it seems they’re also eager to maintain the vision of artists without censorship. As such, it looks like comedians like Dave Chappelle will be part of the streaming service for quite some time. After the release of his aforementioned special The Closer, many LGBTQ employees at Netflix were fired after protesting and trying to have Chappelle’s content removed. But Netflix has now made its stance on such matters clear.