Business Studies
Promotion and Advertising Write a paper (750-1,000 words) in which you evaluate a public relations effort to improve an organization’s public image in the past year. Describe the circumstances behind the image problem, how it affected the organization and its stakeholders, particular market segments affected, and the strategy used to repair the organization’s image. Evaluate the message and the media choices.
The paper must be supported by appropriately cited research.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is required, and is not part of the overall word count.
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ANSWER
The Netflix and LBGTQ Controversy
Netflix, a global online streaming company that airs shows, movies, and standup comedy specials, has recently received backlash from the transgender community. This followed after Dave Chappelle’ a renowned comedian, released his latest special called “The Closer,” in which he uses it as a closing act from the previous three specials already showcased on Netflix (Andrews-Dyer, 2021). The backlash resulted from transgender employees and audiences staging a protest outside Netflix’s headquarters in a bid to have the special removed from the Netflix platform and have management inclusivity, especially for transgender people, to represent them in important senior meetings. While Dave Chappelle’s fans also joined the protest to advocate for the freedom of speech that comes with comedic acts, there seems to be an unending conflict between his loyal fans and the transgender community. In all essence, the conflict seems to resonate around Netflix as the cause of the backlash, with transgender employees calling for more change, an issue that has done little to help Netflix cement its image as a reputable streaming Channel (Andrews-Dyer, 2021). Therefore, this essay analyses the circumstances behind Netflix’s image problem, how the stakeholders and the organization were affected, and some of the strategies employed to regain their reputation.
Dave Chappelle is arguably one of the most talented comedians in the country. What cemented his prowess and personality was the fact that he left a $50 million deal from Comedy Central and decided to quit the show, terming the organization was using him as a puppet, and as a comedian, the freedom of expression was being violated by the company. He left the show in July 2006 and ventured into other personal matters, only for him to reappear into the global limelight in 2017 when he performed several specials including ‘Equanimity, The bird Revelation, deep in the Heart of Texas, Sticks and Stones, the Age of spin and recently The Closer’(Andrews-Dyer, 2021). The specials received global acclaim, leading him to win various awards, including two Grammys, BET Awards, and an Emmy. However, as he continued to regain success, many fans, especially from the LGBTQ community, began to take note of some of the jokes that Dave Chappelle made and termed most of them as offensive.
Quite specifically and what gained more heat was the release of ‘The Closer.’ In the special, Dave calls himself ‘team TERF,’ which stands for ‘trans-exclusionary radical feminist’ (Andrews-Dyer, 2021). He continues to state that he believes gender is a fact and that every human being at one point passed through the legs of a woman when they were born. These comments were viewed as offensive, especially to the transgender community, who claim that Dave vividly and openly does not acknowledge their gender transformations but instead makes fun of them. In addition, Dave Chappelle continuously refers to himself as ‘trans phobic comedian Dave Chappelle’ in an attempt to reanimate the topic of cancel culture and political correctness he explored in his 2019 special ‘Stick and Stones’ (Andrews-Dyer, 2021). As the issue of cancel, culture has continued to after celebrities who are viewed as either homophobic or transphobic. For instance, as in the case of J.K. Rowling, Dave tries to pump the brakes and bring awareness as to the fault the LGBTQ have themselves but seemingly go unnoticed.
In all essence, the image of Netflix as a company took a huge blow from being the center of controversy. After weeks of rumors regarding a walkout by Netflix employees, it finally happened in October 2021, as workers who are part of the LGBTQ protested a day-long strike from work and were joined by other people in the streets (Specter, 2021). The issues were also intensified as more famous celebrities who were part of the community posted in their social media posts that companies like Netflix should be held accountable for giving platforms to trans phobic and homophobic jokes. However, the Chief Executive Officer of Netflix, Ted Sarandos, remained adamant about the demands levied in the protests, saying that the special would not be removed from its platform as the jokes were in no way “cause physical harm or created the intent of harm.” However, Lourdes Ashley Hunter, executive director of the Trans Women of Color Collective, retaliated with these comments by claiming that harm does not always have to be physical but emotional as well (Specter, 2021). In this instance, Hunter claimed that works cause harm and incite violence, especially the remarks that were made by Dave Chappelle concerning the transgender community. In addition, the Executive Director of the National Black Justice Coalition, David Johns, asserts that Netflix always has priorities profits while platforming Transphobia comedies, films, and movies (Specter, 2021).
Netflix’s reputation has also been threatened before amid other controversial airings in their platform. For instance, Netflix has been accused several times of deleting episodes in shows. For instance, Saudi audiences were blocked from seeing an episode created by Hasan Minhaj’s show “Patriot Act” (Pallotta, 2021). The show showcased the comedian connecting the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi to the Saud Arabian crown prince in his monologue. The show was also criticized for permitting a movie that focused on sexualizing teenage girls in their bid for fame called “Cuties.” In a public statement, Netflix apologized for airing the film claiming that “It was not Ok.” In addition, Netflix also confirmed that it had fired an employee after realizing private data belonging to the company, which highlighted it had paid $24.1 million for Dave Chappelle’s ‘The Closer” (Pallotta, 2021).
In retrospect, Netflix has continued to try to look for solutions to these controversies and backlash from both the public and its employees. In an interview. Solandros confessed that the Dave Chappelle situation could have been handled better through effective communications. In an interview with Variety, Solandros said that the internal memo sent to the company’s employees that defended ‘The Closer’ could have led with more empathy and humanity rather than defending it with might. The Transgender community also made it clear that they had no problem with the special or Dave Chappelle, but with the company and the world at large paying little attention to their needs and concerns. In a press release statement, Netflix said that they would have more conversations with the LGBTQ from within and outside the company to create a non-discriminative streaming platform that promotes inclusivity for all regardless of race, gender, or religious affiliations (Pallotta, 2021). Dave Chappelle also said while attending the Hollywood Bowl that he was willing to have a conversation with the LGBTQ community, only if they would watch the special first and realize that his issue ‘not with the trans community, but with white people. Netflix, on its part. Promised to engage more stakeholders from various communities, and continue to listen to public outcries to ensure that such incidences do not occur again, thus protecting their image (Pallotta, 2021).
References
Andrews-Dyer, H. (2021). Dave Chappelle’s Controversial Comedy specials is a catalyst for Change as Netflix Walkout leads to calls for reform. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2021/10/20/netflix-chappelle-controversy/
Pallotta, F. (2021). Netflix mad a mess of a Dave Chappelle controversy. It’s a crisis of Netflix’s own making. Retrieved from https://edition.cnn.com/2021/10/21/media/netflix-dave-chappelle-analysis/index.html
Specter, E. (2021). What’s going on with Dave Chappelle’s Recent Netflix Special? Retrieved from https://www.vogue.com/article/dave-chappelle-netflix-special-controversy
