The controversy surrounding Dave Chappelle’s Netflix special The Closer, in which the comic made remarks disparaging the trans community, intensified this morning as hundreds of activists and allies rallied in support of a walkout by the streaming giant’s employees. The list of allies included the most notable trans star on Netflix: Umbrella Academy superhero Elliot Page.

I stand with the trans, nonbinary, and BIPOC employees at Netflix fighting for more and better trans stories and a more inclusive workplace #NetflixWalkout

Employees are staging the walkout to pressure the company to adopt measures in the areas of “content investment, employee relations and safety, and harm reduction,” according to the company’s trans employee resource group, Trans*.

These measures are meant to avoid future instances of promoting misinformation about the trans and nonbinary community, which activists say have real-life consequences for trans youth – despite an assertion to the contrary by company co-CEO Ted Sarandos. As Ashlee Marie Preston, one of the architects of #NetflixWalkout, explained in a series of tweets:

We’re moving the rally to better accommodate attendees.?? There will be point people at the other site to redirect people to the other site-which is a 2 minute drive or 6 minute walk away from the original location. We look forward to being in community w/ you. #NetflixWalkout

Hours before the planned walkout, Netflix issued a statement in support of the protest action. “We freelocaldates zniknД™Е‚a rozmowa value our trans colleagues and allies, and understand the deep hurt that’s been caused,” the company said.Continue reading→