Netflix Boss Goes on Defensive for Dave Chappelle, Ricky Gervais Over 'Transphobic' Accusations

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos defended comedians Dave Chappelle and Ricky Gervais, who have included jokes about transgender people that many consider transphobic. Sarandos said the streaming service, which is going through the most difficult period in the company's life since becoming nearly ubiquitous, wants to have content for everyone but admits that "everything's not going to be for everybody." Chappelle's jokes in The Closer last year even inspired Netflix employees to walk out of the company's Los Angeles headquarters.

Sarandos told The New York Times he was surprised by the response to The Closer, but he never wavered from supporting Chappelle. Comedians can only figure out where the line is by "crossing the line every once in a while," Sarandos told the Times. "I think it's very important to the American culture generally to have free expression."

The executive went on to say that while Netflix strives to make content appealing to everyone, there is bound to be something on the service that others will not like. "We're programming for a lot of diverse people who have different opinions and different tastes and different styles, and yet we're not making everything for everybody," he said. "We want something for everybody but everything's not going to be for everybody."

The response to The Closer gave Sarandos a rare opportunity to put his "principles to the test," he said. "It was an opportunity to take somebody, like in Dave's case, who is, by all measure, the comedian of our generation, the most popular comedian on Netflix for sure," Sarandos said. "Nobody would say that what he does isn't thoughtful or smart. You just don't agree with him."

Sarandos' first response to the Chappelle controversy came in a memo to employees Variety obtained on Oct. 13. "While some employees disagree, we have a strong belief that content on screen doesn't directly translate to real-world harm," Sarandos wrote. Just days later, he told Variety he "screwed up" with how he handled Netflix employees' concerns.

The most extreme response to The Closer came earlier this month when Isaiah Lee allegedly attacked Chappelle at the Hollywood Bowl during his Netflix Is a Joke festival performance. Lee later told The New York Post he thought Chappelle's jokes about the LGBTQ+ community and homelessness were "triggering." Lee is facing four misdemeanor charges connected to the attack and is now in custody at a Los Angeles prison. Netflix's response to this situation was another memo, in which Sarandos wrote, "If you'd find it hard to support our content breadth, Netflix may not be the best place for you."

Netflix's memo drew praise from conservative media. "It used to be a very liberal issue, so it's an interesting time that we live in," Sarandos told the Times. "I always said if we censor in the U.S., how are we going to defend our content in the Middle East?"

On Tuesday, Netflix released Gervais' latest special, SuperNature. Gervais was quickly criticized on social media for his material about the trans community. The Times asked Sarandos about Gervais' special, and he said his comments about Chappelle also apply to Gervais.