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Netflix To Workers: Quit If You Don't Want To Work On Content You Disagree With

"Depending on your role, you may need to work on titles you perceive to be harmful," Netflix says.

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Netflix has updated its culture guidelines to inform prospective workers that they might be asked to work on content they don't agree with or they perceive to be "harmful." If that's upsetting, there are other jobs out there, Netflix said.

For the first time since 2017 (via Insider), Netflix updated its culture guidelines with a section pertaining to "Artistic Expression." The company says it supports artistic expression of all types and it allows its audience to choose what it wants to watch. As for employees, they might be asked to work on content they might find "harmful," and if that's the case, they might want to look elsewhere for employment.

"Not everyone will like--or agree with--everything on our service," Netflix said. "While every title is different, we approach them based on the same set of principles: we support the artistic expression of the creators we choose to work with; we program for a diversity of audiences and tastes; and we let viewers decide what’s appropriate for them, versus having Netflix censor specific artists or voices."

"As employees we support the principle that Netflix offers a diversity of stories, even if we find some titles counter to our own personal values. Depending on your role, you may need to work on titles you perceive to be harmful. If you'd find it hard to support our content breadth, Netflix may not be the best place for you."

Netflix was criticized in October 2021 for comedian Dave Chappelle's standup special, "The Closer," in which the comedian made comments about the trans community. Netflix management has stood by Chappelle, and in February 2022 re-signed Chappelle for an additional four specials. Staff at Netflix staged walkouts over "The Closer," and Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos apologized for how he worded an email to staff about the controversial Chappelle special.

Netflix was also called out for hosting the movie Cuties, among other programming in its vast library. Looking ahead, Netflix will host the NC-17 Marilyn Monroe movie Blonde, and its director expects the film to offend everyone who sees it.

This is all happening as Netflix expects to lose 2 million more subscribers in the coming months. The company could release its new ad-based subscription tier as early as October.

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deactivated-64efdf49333c4

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Okay, "Cuties" was crossing the line..

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mogan

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mogan  Moderator

Has Netflix altered content at the behest of employees in the past? Or is this just putting their existing stance in official writing?

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Silentchief

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Edited By Silentchief

About time they got some balls. Hopefully more will follow.

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nintendians

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why work with netflix if you don't agreed with them in the 1st place? don't tell me it's for money isn't it?

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Rolento25

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About time a company got some balls.

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deactivated-64efdf49333c4

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@rolento25: Eh, Disney also did the thing where instead of censoring or removing old cartoons, they just put a disclaimer about age of content and historical archiving, so they have too in a way. That said, I do think they did censor some newer shows.

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gaeandilth

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If only everyone would follow Netflix's example. They been failing on every front but finally made a good decision. It is kind of like raising a child you can not pick them up every time they cry or they will keep crying to get what they want. You can not keep rewarding people with attention when they play the woke card or they will keep doing it.

Woke people do it for 2 things. Either they want attention or they using it as a weapon against something/someone they do not like. A very small percentage are actually offended and that small percentage loses their ability to do anything about it because the massive majority is drowning them out.

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bat725

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That’s great. Now, please give us a proper continuation of the 80’s He-Man.

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deactivated-64efdf49333c4

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@bat725: Hey, I like the new CG one. Cool art style and the whole JRPG feel of the plot, plus Cringer is actually an interesting character here.

What the heck was so great about the 80's show? It was bottom of the barrel Saturday morning cartoon drek. I hated it even when I was a kid.

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CyrusDrake20

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After all the negative news about Netflix, it's refreshing to see them in the good news again. I haven't really cared for their shows but every company should take notes. Every company needs to make what they're passionate about and stop feeling pressured to please EVERYONE. You can't please everyone and once you start down that path, good luck. You'll lose yourself and your company.

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MattWoahYeah

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Sounds like a subtle way to reduce their workforce without layoffs.

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Djon

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One can hope that the woke era is slowly being replaced with the asleep era.

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StickEmUp

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Edited By StickEmUp

“Quit If You Don't Want To Work On Content You Disagree With”

That should honestly be the slogan for every company. I am so sick of the ego and entitlement so many people have when it comes to their job. The company sets the rules and you have two options: deal with it or leave. That is every job. People think they can just come in and start telling the company all of the things they need to change. If I had my own company, and people started telling me how to run it, I’d be telling them to kick rocks. Even with the shitty companies that don’t treat their employees well, like Amazon. You either deal with being treated shitty, or you leave. If you really need the job, then suck it up and use it as motivation to get a better job. I refuse to accept the “I don’t have any other options” excuse. There are always other options.

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DoomsdayHell01

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Thank you Netflix and I'm still gonna be watching my Netflix Chappell

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Slash_out

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I agree with Netflix, it's a job, you are paid to do it, and sometimes you don't like the task, you don't get to cherry pick and you certainly don't get to decide what the whole company has a right to work on. This is perfectly natural.

Good for you Netflix

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Elranzer

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Netflix is correct.

The workers offended by Chappelle’s stand-up can go work for CNN+.

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bbq_R0ADK1LL

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I work for a broadcast company & there's plenty of content that doesn't represent my personal or political views. I don't expect it to.

Netflix is taking the right stance here.

11 • 
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s1taz4a3l

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That email had a soundbyte attachment of the purge siren.

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Tiller720

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Might have to resub to support

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Daidochus

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The comments Gamespot did not expect when posting this article. You guys should have blamed Netflix, not the employees. Cmon guys, this is not how it works.

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Thanatos2k

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The correct stance!

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BankaiofRDN

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At will employment. Unless you are in a contract that says otherwise, move on if you don't like it.

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deactivated-64ff549d2d157

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YES.... It has come full circle b*tches. NETFLIX has earned my respect.

This is how it starts. One company has the balls to do it, everyone else will follow.

I warned the SJWs a while ago, in this very site.

Paulo Freire coined this phrase. “The oppressed, instead of striving for liberation, tend themselves to become oppressors.”

It was very clear that the movements were going to canibalize themselves and, eventually, would piss-off enough people that those who support the idea of equality started to realize that those groups didn't want equality. They really wanted to dictate. They wanted to mandate how other people should live, think, act, react and what they thought was good, bad, attractive, unattractive and so on.

You can see this in action here, at gamespot. In the same website where gaming companies were critized for being sexist, where games were criticized for objectifying women, you have pieces that read "Gotham Knights Nerfs Nightwing's Magnificent Ass In New Gameplay Trailer".

Hypocrisy? I don't think it is that simple. It's just people being people. But we're happy to call you out on your bullsh*t. That's the fun part.

There's something incredibly satisfying in watching SJWs going nuts when someone purposely points out they are doing that same thing they criticized 6 months ago.

And to the B*tches that work on Netflix. Welcome to adulthood. Every now and then you'll hear your boss saying "Shut the f*ck up and do your job".

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BubbaHax

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@dirtydyk: Disney got slapped down by the Florida government and other companies that champion woke stuff definitely noticed. Maybe concentrating on your core business and not outrageous politics is the way to go - before that business is destroyed.

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Michall

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awesome. Sucks that this has to be "news". Good thing they didn't cave to those few activists from 2021.

12 • 
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ID0ntKn0w7

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Cuties barely gets a mention, but Chappelle's oft-mischaracterized special leads to story. Unreal

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mogan

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Edited By mogan  Moderator

@id0ntkn0w7: It's two sentences in the second to last paragraph.

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ID0ntKn0w7

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@mogan: it's one sentence and the controversy of sexualizing children wasn't even mentioned.

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mogan

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Edited By mogan  Moderator

@id0ntkn0w7: Cuties was mentioned in the very next paragraph. GameSpot isn’t required to still be as outraged as you are over a two year old movie in an article about Netflix’s stance on cultural values. You’re manufacturing drama here.

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ID0ntKn0w7

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@mogan: what is one to do when the sheriff picks a fight with him?

Gamespot isn't required to be outraged over the sexualization of 12-year-olds. You are correct about that. Nor am I required to agree with this, or restrained from pointing out the disparity of priorities it indicates when coupled with giving Chappelle's special a paragraph and leading with it (as an example).

But you have the authority as the moderator, so sure, I'm "manufacturing drama" by pointing this out.

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CJ_Topspin

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Edited By CJ_Topspin

@id0ntkn0w7: I hate to openly disagree with the moderator but...respectfully...and humbly...knowing I appreciate the work you moderators do here...

...ID0ntKn0w has a pretty valid point. But, then again, its simply because we vehemently disagree with the sexualization of children. That may annoy some people but it's pretty much, as you put it, "a cultural value" hard-wired into some of us I think...

Again, I apologize for disagreeing. I appreciate the work you guys do.

Don't ban me please.

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Rolento25

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@cj_topspin: Stop sucking up to Mogan, If you don't agree.... don't agree with him.

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mogan

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mogan  Moderator

@rolento25: This. I’m not going to ban anybody for having a different opinion than me. And if I ever do, please take it up with the mod team so they can overrule me.

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CJ_Topspin

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@mogan: Fair enough. Its just...difficult...to know these days who it is ok to disagree with. One moment the conversation is going along normally and the next some organization takes offense and goes after you.

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deactivated-64a3ced8b46b8

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Seems like basic common sense really.

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aaronlav

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Hey, the most sensible thing to come out of Netflix in a while.... hope more companies start drawing a line in the sand.

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SecretPolice

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The Wokeing Dead... should be their new show. lol :P

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Daidochus

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Edited By Daidochus

@SecretPolice: Robert Kirkman really went woke after issue 170 of his comics. You could see it after he introduced Princess (a cringe stereotype loud mouth Latina). Glad he ended it 23 issues later. The show is okayish, you can see the woke Aspects of it but as long as they have the interesting characters (Daryl, Carol, Micchone, etc), they can do what they want.

When they went to the Commonwealth. 1 White dude, 1 Asian, 1 Hispanic, 1 African. I laughed soooo hard at their attempt. Really sad, these things should come naturally.

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BDRTFM

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Makes sense. You tailor your product to your customers, not your employees.

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hardwenzen

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Anti snowflakes procedure has began.

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mpl911

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@hardwenzen: Please God!!!

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poe13

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My goodness, is common sense finally coming back in to fashion?

"Not everyone will like or agree with everything on our service" - it's almost like this should be a disclaimer everyone needs to read when they log in or something on their accounts on the internet before they post their hurt feewings on twitter and try to get actors canceled and fired.

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MoogleStar

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Netflix going down.

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gargar

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@mooglestar: *sigh* they actually added 300K subscribers last quarter. Remember that they actually removed 500K Russian subscribers from the services but the net lose was only 200K. meaning that if Russia wouldn't start a war they had 300K more subscribers.

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masscrack

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@mooglestar: they just earned a continued subscription from me.

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Boodger

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@masscrack: it is bizarre to me when people choose services and products not based on how much they like them, but how similar their political beliefs are.

Pay for it or leave it, whatever. But shilling for a company only because they took a stance you like is bizarre.

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