Netflix’s Ted Sarandos Defends Dave Chappelle Special in Staff Memo: ‘Artistic Freedom’ Is Different for Stand-Up (EXCLUSIVE)

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos is still supportive of comedian Dave Chappelle, as he proved at last night’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Cleveland. Sarandos, joined by his wife, Nicole Avant, was there to support his father-in-law, former Motown Chairman Clarence Avant, who was getting inducted

The blast radius from the controversy over Dave Chappelle’s repeated remarks about the trans and LGBTQ+ communities in his Netflix special The Closer has now extended to the National Labor Relations Board and bruising charges of “unfair labor practices” against the streamer.

For the last couple of weeks, the controversy that surrounded the Dave Chappelle comedy special, “The Closer,” seemed positioned as a fight between Netflix and the LGBTQ community, specifically those that work at the streaming service. This is because Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos seemed to be the bad guy, releasing statements that were tone deaf, at best, and insulting/offensive, at worst.

Jon Stewart is putting on his public relations cap in defense of longtime friend, comedian Dave Chappelle, who Stewart is adamant was not trying to be divisive in his latest comedy special, "The Closer."  Netflix employees staged a walkout on Wednesday after previously taking to social media and issuing internal memos to the streamer’s co-CEO Ted Sarandos, calling for the comedy offering to be removed from the platform after many felt Chappelle made jokes negatively impacting the transgender

In the wake of outrage over Dave Chappelle’s controversial comments about transgender people in his new Netflix special “The Closer”, LGBTQ employees and their allies are staging a walkout on Wednesday, Oct. 20, protesting Netflix content chief Ted Sarandos refusal to remove the special from the streaming service.

Perhaps the most unique aspect of the latest outrage against Dave Chappelle and his stand-up comedy is the fact that Chappelle himself doesn’t seem to be the one stoking the anger even more. In fact, the mess that Netflix finds itself in now after the release of “The Closer,” which many say contains dangerous transphobic content, was largely due to how the co-CEO of the streaming service, Ted Sarandos, handled the situation.

The head of Netflix is walking back some of his words.

Netflix boss Ted Sarandos has admitted he “screwed up” after defending Dave Chappelle’s new comedy special.Chappelle and Netflix were criticised by the LGBTQ community over several jokes featured in his new special, where he labelled himself “team TERF” when discussing the controversy surrounding Harry Potter author JK Rowling.In the wake of the special’s release and subsequent controversy, Netflix then fired an employee for leaking information about the special.Sarandos had sent a memo to

Matt Donnelly Senior Film WriterNetflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos is speaking out over continued criticism of the Dave Chappelle comedy special “The Closer.”On the eve of a planned employee walkout at the streaming giant — organized by trans and LGBTQ+ staffers, content creators and allies — Sarandos addressed numerous points related to recent jokes from Chappelle that have incensed the trans community and been labeled as harmful.The events around “The Closer” have represented a rare blunder for

Organizers of a planned walkout this week at Netflix of the streamers’ trans employees said Monday that they will present a list of “firm asks” to company co-CEO and chief content officer Ted Sarandos and are working on a public service announcement supporting their cause that includes participation from Queer Eye‘s Jonathan Van Ness, upcoming She-Hulk star Jameela Jamil, Sara Ramirez, Angelica Ross, TS Madison, Eureka O’Hara and Colton Haynes.

Ellise Shafer administratorA rally in support of the Netflix trans employee walkout on Oct. 20, dubbed “Stand Up in Solidarity,” will present co-CEO Ted Sarandos with a list of “firm asks” and feature a PSA from stars including Angelica Ross, Jonathan Van Ness, Jameela Jamil, Eureka O’Hara and Colton Haynes.Organized by activist Ashlee Marie Preston, the in-person rally will take place on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m.

Hannah Gadsby is speaking out.

Christopher Vourlias Before Netflix had grown into a world-conquering streaming giant, “Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry” director R.J. Cutler would routinely bump into the company’s co-CEO Ted Sarandos on the film festival circuit.

From the moment Netflix announced itself as an original programming player with House Of Cards, the streamer has been touting its great relationship with talent. That reputation has taken hit over the last week in the wake of Dave Chappelle’s controversial new special The Closer which has had top Netflix talent denounce the comedian’s comments about transgender people as well as Netflix’s support of Chappelle led by co-CEO Ted Sarandos.

Caroline Framke Chief TV CriticThe second memo that Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos issued to Netflix staff about Dave Chappelle and stand-up comedy only proves that he doesn’t understand why people are actually upset about how Chappelle approaches transgender people in his new special “The Closer.” In his first response, Sarandos emphasized that even if “some people find the art of stand-up to be mean-spirited … our members enjoy it.” In the second, he again asserts Chappelle’s right to “artistic

The Netflix/Dave Chappelle drama over his recent special, “The Closer,” doesn’t seem to be calming down anytime soon. And while Chappelle himself has stayed out of the discussion, the surprising villain that is seemingly coming out of this whole situation (in the eyes of the LGBTQ+ community, at least) is co-CEO Ted Sarandos, who unabashedly came out in support of Chappelle’s special, which many say contains transphobic material.

The controversy over Netflix’s Dave Chappelle special The Closer continued today with allegations that employees had raised concerns about the doc before it debuted, reports of a planned walkout next week by and in support of the company’s trans employees and a leaked memo from company co-CEO Ted Sarandos maintaining that violent or abusive content does not spur viewers to harm others.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film WriterNetflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos sent a lengthy missive to the entire company following the mounting controversy around a new original special from comic Dave Chappelle.After addressing top leadership in a Friday memo, Sarandos sent an email on Monday to all staff — some of whom have increasingly expressed outrage over jokes about the trans community in Chappelle’s “The Closer,” and have scheduled a walkout protest as a response.“We know that a number of you have been

The Los Angeles Times and The Verge. The group includes both transgender employees and allies.The walkout is slated for Oct.

Ellise Shafer administratorTrans employees and allies at Netflix are planning a walkout on Wednesday, Oct. 20 in protest of CEO Ted Sarandos’ comments regarding Dave Chappelle’s new special “The Closer,” Variety has confirmed.As reported by The Verge, a leader of the streamer’s trans employee resource group wrote the following in a message to members: “Trans Lives Matter.