Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos affirmed again the Dave Chappelle stand-up special was not being removed and said sometimes there’s going to be content people are “not going to like.”
“When we think about this challenge we have to entertain the world, part of that challenge means that you’ve got audiences with various taste, various sensibilities, various beliefs,” Sarandos shared with the Hollywood Reporter in a piece published Wednesday. (RELATED: ‘Gender Is A Fact’: They’re Not Going To Be Happy With Dave Chappelle’s Latest Bit On Trans Culture)
“You really can’t please everybody or the content would be pretty dull,” he added. Chapelle said that they tell their employees that the goal is to entertain their subscribers. “Some of the content on Netflix you’re not going to like, and so this kind of commitment to artistic expression and free artistic expression is sometimes in conflict with people feeling protected and safe,” he said. (RELATED: ‘No One Can Be Woke Enough’: Dave Chappelle And Joe Rogan Rip ‘Woke Ideology,’ Defend Elon Musk)
Netflix Co-CEO Says He ‘Screwed Up’ When Defending Dave Chappelle Special
‘I should have recognized the fact that a group of our employees was really hurting’ https://t.co/YC3sWkIyxV
— Jesse Singal (@jessesingal) October 20, 2021
“I do think that that’s something that we struggle with all the time when these two values bump up against each other,” Sarandos continued. “But I do think that the inclusion of the special on Netflix is consistent with our comedy offering, it’s consistent with Dave Chappelle’s comedy brand and this is … one of those times when there’s something on Netflix that you’re not going to like.”
During the interview, the CEO addressed the backlash against the company over the 48-year-old comedian’s LGBTQ comments in the special and said he “screwed up” in his memo to staff that was leaked and should have noted how some of his employees were “in pain” due to the decision to air the special.
In Chappelle’s latest special, he basically agreed with author J.K. Rowling that “gender is a fact” and talked about attacks he’s received from the LGBTQ community calling him “transphobic.”