Netflix fires organiser of trans walkout after ‘revealing $25m cost of Dave Chappelle special’

Netflix has fired the organiser of a trans employee walkout – five days before the protest was planned to take place.

The trans employee resource group leader, who has asked not to be identified in the media to avoid harassment, had been actively encouraging fellow trans employees and allies to walk out as a protest against how Netflix handled Dave Chappelle’s comedy special, The Closer.

Chappelle was criticised by some as transphobic after stating that “gender is a fact” during his sixth special. He also said that everyone had to be born from a woman to “be on earth.”

A former employee told The Verge: “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.

“That’s absurd, and just further shows that Black trans people are the ones being targeted in this conversation.”

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Netflix terminated the unidentified former employee from the company on suspicion of leaking metrics to the press. Details were said to include how much Netflix paid for the production and the number of people it reached – which subsequently ended up being published in Bloomberg.

According to the news outlet, Netflix spent $24.1 million on Chapelle’s, The Closer – a slight increase to the $23.6 million for the comedian’s 2019 special, Sticks & Stones.

As a comparison, the platform spent $3.9 million for Bo Burnham’s special, Inside, and $21.4 million on their best-ever original series, Squid Game.

Netflix confirmed the dismissal in a statement on Friday.

“We have let go of an employee for sharing confidential, commercially sensitive information outside the company,” a Netflix spokesperson said Friday,” they said.

“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.”