Amid the furor over Dave Chappelle's new Netflix comedy special The Closer—which contains a litany of jokes that have struck many as transphobic—Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos took the situation from bad to worse last week by defending the special in a now infamous memo to his employees.
Comedian Hannah Gadsby—herself a veteran of comedy specials for the streaming network—is absolutely not having it.
In a post on Instagram, Gadsby lambasted Sarandos—even going so far as to issue her former boss a "F**k You" for his tone-deaf response to the criticism.
See her post below.
Gadsby's response comes after Sarandos cited her as an example of Netflix's commitment to LGBTQ inclusivity in his response to the Chappelle controversy.
His statement read in part:
"We are working hard to ensure marginalized communities aren't defined by a single story. So we have Sex Education, Orange is the New Black, Control Z, Hannah Gadsby and Dave Chappelle all on Netflix. Key to this is increasing diversity on the content team itself."
Maddeningly, he justified his decision not to remove the special from the platform saying:
"While some employees disagree, we have a strong belief that content on screen doesn't directly translate to real-world harm."
In her Instagram post, Gadsby made it clear she did not appreciate being used as a prop for his attempt to save face.
"Hey Ted Sarandos! Just a quick note to let you know that I would prefer if you didn't drag my name into your mess."
"You didn't pay me nearly enough to deal with the real world consequences of the hate speech dog whistling you refuse to acknowledge, Ted."
F**k you and your amoral algorithm cult … I do shits with more back bone than you."
"That's just a joke! I definitely didn't cross a line because you just told the world there isn't one."
On Twitter, many people applauded Gadsby for so bluntly speaking truth to power.
\u2018We traumatise LGBTQ people BUT we also feature traumatised LGBTQ talent so we\u2019re good\u2019 seems to be Netflix\u2019 take.— Violet Wyle \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6\ud83d\ude09 (@Violet Wyle \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6\ud83d\ude09) 1634362407
"When somebody tells me\nto 'stop being so sensitive',\nyou know what? I feel a\nlittle like a nose being\nlectured by a fart.\nI am not the problem.\u201d\n- Hannah Gadsbypic.twitter.com/KBh67It4CC— pants (@pants) 1634221998
Good on Hannah Gadsby not staying silent while Netflix try to imply that they've earned a little anti trans comedy on their platform by namedropping her.https://twitter.com/pajiba/status/1449002630198353927\u00a0\u2026— Laura Kate Dale (@Laura Kate Dale) 1634330179
In a world of Dave Chappelles, be a Hannah Gadsbypic.twitter.com/fqg8E0z9cA— josh uber \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@josh uber \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1634336963
I adore Hannah Gadsby for so many reasons, but this reply also. is so so so yes.https://twitter.com/GBBranstetter/status/1449027747452436484\u00a0\u2026— \ud83e\udd87 Natania Barron \ud83e\udd87 (@\ud83e\udd87 Natania Barron \ud83e\udd87) 1634316211
Bless Hannah Gadsby\n\n"You didn\u2019t pay me nearly enough to deal with the real world consequences of the hate speech dog whistling you refuse to acknowledge, Ted. Fuck you and your amoral algorithm cult.\u201dhttps://tvline.com/2021/10/15/hannah-gadsby-ted-sarandos-controversy-statement-dave-chappelle/amp/\u00a0\u2026— Bi Dyke Energy (@Bi Dyke Energy) 1634303940
Gadsby's two critically acclaimed Netflix specials, Nanette and Douglas, are among the streamer's most celebrated comedy releases.
Gadsby won an Emmy for the former in 2019.
@sama/X
