Netflix fires organizer of transgender employees walkout over alleged data leak

Netflix has fired the individual who was planning the transgender employee walkout to protest the David Chapelle special over an alleged data leak at the company.

The employee who was fired, who is Black and pregnant, was a leader of the transgender employee resource group and organizing the Oct. 20 walkout, The Verge reported. The employee asked to remain anonymous due to fear of backlash. 

“We have let go of an employee for sharing confidential, commercially sensitive information outside the company. We understand this employee may have been motivated by disappointment and hurt with Netflix, but maintaining a culture of trust and transparency is core to our company,” a Netflix spokesperson said in a statement to The Hill.

Many spoke out against Netflix after the David Chapelle special was aired, as people said his comments were transphobic and the company should not have allowed it on its platform. 

Amid the backlash, Bloomberg ended up with the numbers for how many people watched the special and how much Netflix paid for the special, which is normally kept a secret.

The Verge reports that the employee did share the numbers within the company, but claims they did not give it to anyone outside the company because they didn’t want the walkout to be affected. 

“All these white people are going around talking to the press and speaking publicly on Twitter and the only person who gets fired is the Black person who was quiet the entire time,” the former employee said. “That’s absurd, and just further shows that Black trans people are the ones being targeted in this conversation.”

The walkout is set to happen a day after a virtual event for the company will occur where employees can discuss the special and how it could have affected transgender people.

—Updated at 5:41 p.m.