Netflix has reinstated three employees it suspended following the controversy around comedian Dave Chappelle’s latest comedy special, The Closer. This includes trans and queer senior software engineer, Terra Field.
The streaming giant says it suspended the employees, pending investigation, for crashing its Quarterly Business Review (QBR): a high-level meeting of executives.
Field shared the news on Twitter on Tuesday evening.
“Netflix has reinstated me after finding that there was no ill-intent in my attending the QBR meeting. I’ve included the statement I requested below.
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“I’m going to take a few days off to decompress and try to figure out where I’m at. At the very least, I feel vindicated.”
Netflix has reinstated me after finding that there was no ill-intent in my attending the QBR meeting. I’ve included the statement I requested below.
I’m going to take a few days off to decompress and try to figure out where I’m at. At the very least, I feel vindicated. pic.twitter.com/lYxemYgRkJ
— Terra Field (@RainofTerra) October 13, 2021
The message from Netflix to Field said, “Our investigation did not find you joined the QBR meeting with any ill intent and that you genuinely didn’t think there was anything wrong with seeking access to the meeting. Additionally when a Director shared the link it further supported that this was a meeting you could attend.”
The other two employees suspended have not been named. A Netflix spokesperson confirmed the news of the reinstatements to Variety, adding that the company “will be distributing broader guidance about meetings and clarifying which are for which people.”
Related: Madonna called Dave Chappelle “the next James Baldwin” in her new tour doc and fans are pissed
Many LGBTQ advocates (such as advocacy group GLAAD) have criticized Chappelle for comments he makes in his latest show regarding trans people. This included Field, who posted a Twitter thread last Wednesday in which she said, “Yesterday we launched another Chappelle special where he attacks the trans community, and the very validity of transness – all while trying to pit us against other marginalized groups.”
Others have claimed that despite some of his material, Chappelle is sympathetic to the hardships facing many trans people. In The Closer, he talks of his friendship with a trans woman, the comedian Daphne Dorman, who killed herself in 2019.
Netflix denied Field’s suspensions anything to do with her tweet, saying in a statement on Monday, “It is absolutely untrue to say that we have suspended any employees for tweeting about this show. Our employees are encouraged to disagree openly and we support their right to do so.”
Related: Netflix CEO stands behind Dave Chappelle’s transphobic comedy special, says some people “enjoy it”
Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos also said Monday that the streamer was standing by the show. In a memo to staff, leaked to media, he said, “We don’t allow Netflix titles that are designed to incite hate or violence, and we don’t believe The Closer crosses that line. I recognize, however, that distinguishing between commentary and harm is hard, especially with stand-up comedy which exists to push boundaries. Some people find the art of stand-up to be mean-spirited but our members enjoy it, and it’s an important part of our content offering.”
The Verge reports that Netflix’s trans employee resource group is planning a company-wide walkout on October 20 in response to Sarandos’ remarks.
Cam
Dave Chapelle is now touring with right wing Joe Rogan.
Tells ya all you need to know about where his comments were coming from.
cc423
Of course he is… birds of a feather and all. And this makes that Ted Sarandon person look like a freaking idiot.
LumpyPillows
Suspending the employees seemed to be an overreaction to me for attempting to talk to managers. That said, it is always dangerous to publicly comment negatively on your employer. You are free to speak, but in most states, they are also free to fire you without cause.
The Chappelle special was an interesting take on many issues, worthy of discussion and debate, but not silencing. Best to actually watch it before commenting.
Jim
Hate is hate and Chappelle is profiting off of it.
Fahd
All this brouhaha to defend the racist transphobic non jokes in a non special of a has-been comedian.
Talk about being on the wrong side of history.
Neflix just isn’t what it once was, even though it’s charging more. I guess competition and bad management have taken their toll. Sad!
Hank31
Yah, “has-been” comics get $10 million to do Netflix specials. Makes sense.
Fahd
@Hank31
I get it — have a few and come on Queerty and type away…..but actually you make my point about bad management at Netflix – I think the dopes paid Ellen even more…. And, after all, some of their fans, like you can still work the remote. In the end, Netflix doesn’t care, the subscribers pay…subscription TV ….what a scam!
Keep spreading the bile…. I hope it eases the pain.
Hank31
Those Netflix people don’t know anything about the popularity of entertainers and how to price their performances! Only Fahd from the Internet knows!
Fahd
@Hank31
Duh! They’re playing a numbers game- as I said Ellen and Chapelle probably have some fans like you still on autopay and able to work the remote- some people miss Jerry Lewis; Rand Paul is in the Senate – doesn’t make it right. And, please, stop drinking and speed trolling, you’re just embarrassing yourself.
mastik8
I’m glad she was reinstated but now we know she wasn’t suspended because of her views about the Chappelle show but rather because they thought she had barged her way into a meeting they mistakenly thought she was not authorized to attend. I watched the show and it wasn’t at all how it is being presented. The Trans community’s feelings about Dave Chappelle are being exploited to promote the show. They have every right to their outrage but their outrage was built into the campaign and now it seems they’re providing free publicity.
sfhairy
Oooooooh, all 10 of their trans employees are gonna walk out. Netflix is quivering in their boots. Not.
Hank31
If all the trans employees left, that would benefit Netflix. They represent a source of never-ending distraction and drama as well as an increased liability risk.
ciasteczek
Imagine being at work and bursting in a meeting that you were invited to?? What would your boss do?? Fired you.
But of course woke snowflakes always get what they wat and at the same time screaming that their are oppresed and marginalized
Hank31
It’s interesting how that trans was allowed off the hook based on intent. I thought that intent didn’t matter and that people need to be “held accountable” regardless of their intent. I guess the rules of social justice don’t apply when the perpetrator is trans..
They should have fired that trans for disrupting the workplace and undermining the programming decisions of management. There really is no reason to coddle trans employees, since they offer no advantage to an employer over equally qualified non-trans employees. They come to the workplace with much baggage and more specialized demands than regular workers.
curiobi
J.K, that you terfing it up again? By the way this inflammatory pot storing you are doing is… BORING. Just say you are a bigot troll and leave. We are all tired. Next.
Ronbo
Strange how curiobi personally attacks Hank31 and calls him J.K., yet does not address how Terra violated Netflix rules – the SAME meeting rules which congress follows.
Remember Jan 6 when tRumpers invaded the capitol? Does curiobi support that kind of activity?
Who is the hypocrite, curiobi?
ThinkPIease
In our new Cancel Culture America can one of these woke idiots please provide a list of what comedians can make fun of on stage or is everything off limits now?
Terrycloth
I dropped my Netflix subscription..now I’m getting constant messages / text to come back and at a lower price too…I left mainly because their lgbtq+ programming was old and hardly ever changed..neither has other genres plus I find the layout a pain to navigate and some programs the sound is too low and need to crank up volume…I also wish they would state if a movie is subtitled ( I prefer not ) I’ve found other tv apps with what I want without spending anything or way less