Netflix's Ted Sarandos Makes New Statement Over Dave Chappelle Backlash & The Company's Response

Ted Sarandos has made a new statement following the backlash over his support of Dave Chappelle‘s recent comedy special.

Over the weekend, Netflix’s CEO found himself in hot water with fans and activists over his support of the special, where Dave made several anti-trans statements.

In a new interview with Variety, Ted admits he screwed up.

Click inside to read what he said…

“I screwed up that internal communication. I did that, and I screwed it up in two ways,” he says. “First and foremost, I should have led with a lot more humanity. Meaning, I had a group of employees who were definitely feeling pain and hurt from a decision we made. And I think that needs to be acknowledged up front before you get into the nuts and bolts of anything. I didn’t do that.”

Ted added, “That was uncharacteristic for me, and it was moving fast and we were trying to answer some really specific questions that were floating. We landed with some things that were much more blanket and matter-of-fact that are not at all accurate.”

He continued, “Storytelling has real impact in the real world. I reiterate that because it’s why I work here, it’s why we do what we do. That impact can be hugely positive, and it can be quite negative. So, I would have been better in that communication.”

“They were joining a conversation already in progress, but out of context. But that happens, internal emails go out. In all my communications I should lean into the humanity up front and not make a blanket statement that could land very differently than it was intended.”

“Under the definition of ‘does it intend to cause physical harm?’ I do not believe it falls into hate speech,” Ted reiterates. “I don’t believe there have been many calls to remove it.”