A leading LGBTQ2S+ advocacy group has removed Netflix from its list of “Best Places to Work” amid the fallout over Dave Chappelle’s transphobic comedy special.
The company was noticeably absent from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation’s annual Corporate Equality Index (CEI) released on Thursday, which grades hundreds of major U.S. companies on LGBTQ2S+ inclusion in the workplace. This year, 842 businesses received a rating of 100—the largest such number since the CEI was launched 20 years ago. But in an unprecedented move, the HRC did not award Netflix a score at all.
The HRC said in a statement accompanying the CEI that the decision was inspired by the “harm experienced by transgender workers at Netflix as a result of the company’s handling of the release of [Chappelle’s special] The Closer.
“HRC and Netflix are having productive conversations about steps the company could take to demonstrate it is acting in a manner consistent with the values of workplace equality and inclusion and to improve trust among their employees and the public,” the non-profit stated. (It did not, however, elaborate on the specifics of that discussion when contacted by Xtra.)
Until this year, Netflix had received the highest possible rating on each CEI dating back to 2017. The HRC Foundation had considered deducting Netflix’s 2021 score by 25 points given its previous good standing but eventually came to the conclusion that a mere demerit wasn’t enough.
“Given where we were in this moment in time, we felt the suspension was more appropriate,” said Jay Brown, senior vice president of programs, research and training, in comments to NBC News. “This is an interesting situation where the policies themselves are really strong. You have trans-inclusive benefits, you have robust nondiscrimination policies. It’s really about how they’re living their values, and if they can do more.”
The Closer has been met with near-universal condemnation from LGBTQ2S+ groups since its October release. In the set, Chappelle doubles down on his longtime mockery of trans people and declares that “gender is a fact” while defending embattled Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling.
At the time, HRC warned that Chappelle’s comments would “stoke stigma, fear and hate” in a year marked by the highest number of anti-trans homicides in U.S. history. The LGBTQ2S+ media watchdog GLAAD called upon Netflix to “commit to living up to [its] own standards,” noting that the streamer has been a home for “groundbreaking” queer series like Feel Good, Special and Sense8.
“It is deeply disappointing that Netflix allowed Dave Chappelle’s lazy and hostile transphobia and homophobia to air on its platform,” concluded David Johns, executive director of the National Black Justice Coalition in a statement.
Despite the blowback, critics say Netflix has done little to meaningfully address the controversy. Several Netflix employees who spoke out against Chappelle’s comments and led an internal walkout in support of the trans community were fired. In an internal memo, the company’s co-CEO, Ted Sarandos, defended The Closer on the grounds of “creative freedom” and suggested that critics of the special had failed to discern “between commentary and harm.
“We don’t allow titles [on] Netflix that are designed to incite hate or violence, and we don’t believe The Closer crosses that line,” Sarandos wrote.
Although Sarandos would later walk back that statement and offer an apology, The Closer is still streaming on Netflix, and the company has yet to sever its ties with Chappelle. The comic is currently scheduled to headline Netflix’s first comedy festival in April.
The company said in a statement that it “respectfully [disagrees] with HRC’s decision” to take action against the streamer over its relationship with Chappelle.
“While we have more work to do, we’ve made real strides on inclusion, including for our LGBTQ+ colleagues,” a Netflix spokesperson said in an email to Xtra. “For example, we offer comprehensive transgender and non-binary-inclusive care in our U.S. health plans as well as adoption, surrogacy and parental leave for same-sex couples. And we’ve also worked hard to increase representation on screen.
“Netflix is the only major entertainment company to have commissioned and published independent research into diversity in our content so that we can better measure our progress,” the representative added.
Netflix wasn’t the only company removed this year from HRC’s “Best Places to Work” index, which rates businesses on factors like whether they offer trans-inclusive health benefits or have a fully comprehensive nondiscrimination policy in place. The California-based video game firm Activision Blizzard was also booted from the CEI following a labour lawsuit alleging an unsafe environment for LGBTQ2S+ workers, as well as rampant sexual harassment against female employees.
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