A Black Netflix employee who was encouraging transgender staff members and allies to speak out against the platform's controversial Dave Chappelle special, The Closer, has been fired.
The former employee, who was organizing the upcoming Oct. 20 walkout in response to the program, was fired for allegedly leaking information about how much Netflix paid for The Closer and how many people it reached, The Verge reports.
One employee, who spoke with The Verge anonymously, said Netflix failed to impose the same punishment for white employees who were committing similar infractions.
“All these white people are going around talking to the press and speaking publicly on Twitter and the only person who gets fired is the Black person who was quiet the entire time,” the employee said. “That’s absurd, and just further shows that Black trans people are the ones being targeted in this conversation.”
Netflix, which has a strict policy about its internal data, confirmed its reason for terminating the employee.
“We have let go of an employee for sharing confidential, commercially sensitive information outside the company,” a Netflix spokesperson stated. “We understand this employee may have been motivated by disappointment and hurt with Netflix, but maintaining a culture of trust and transparency is core to our company.”
As Blavity previously reported, Chappelle came under fire after the final installment of his Netflix series, where he referred to the private area of transgender women as "impossible "p***y."
David Johns, the National Black Justice Coalition's executive director, is among the many advocates who are urging Netflix to remove the special.
"It is deeply disappointing that Netflix allowed Dave Chappelle's lazy and hostile transphobia and homophobia to air on its platform," Johns said, according to Deadline. "With 2021 on track to be the deadliest year on record for transgender people in the United States — the majority of whom are Black transgender people — Netflix should know better. Perpetuating transphobia perpetuates violence."
