Hannah Gadsby Tells Netflix Exec Who Used Her As an Example For Inclusivity: ‘F**k You’

Comedian Hannah Gadsby went after Netflix, the co-CEO of Netflix Ted Sarandos, and Dave Chappelle in a recent statement after Sarandos name-dropped her in the streaming service’s latest scandal.

On Thursday, Gadsby posted a statement on Instagram in response to Sarandos’ remarks about how “inclusive” Netflix has been.

“Hey Ted Sarandos! Just a quick note to let you know that I would prefer if you didn’t drag my name into your mess. Now I have to deal with even more of the hate and anger that Dave Chappelle’s fans like to unleash on me every time Dave gets 20 million dollars to process his emotionally stunted partial world view,” she wrote.

Sarandos has been all over the news cycle this week as he continues to defend Chappelle’s latest stand-up special, The Closer, which mocked people in the trans community. The Netflix executive apparently sent a memo to his staff to defend Chappelle’s statements, decrying that such remarks don’t “directly translate to real-world harm” and therefore would not be removed. That memo also emphasized that Netflix was “working hard to ensure marginalized communities aren’t defined by a single story.”

“So we have Sex Education, Orange Is the New Black, Control Z, Hannah Gadsby and Dave Chappelle all on Netflix. Key to this is increasing diversity on the content team itself,” he listed as examples.

Gadsby, clocking the mention of herself in connection with her blockbuster 2018 Netflix special Nanette, didn’t hesitate to express her disgust with being brought into the current chaos and went on to say that Netflix “didn’t pay me nearly enough to deal with the real world consequences of the hate speech dog whistling you refuse to acknowledge, Ted.”

“Fuck you and your amoral algorithm cult…. I do shits with more back bone than you,” she wrote, noting that remark was a “joke” and that she didn’t cross any lines because Sarandos already told the world “there isn’t one.”

Gadsby’s remarks come amid reports that trans employees and allies at Netflix are planning to participate in a virtual walkout on Wednesday, Oct. 20. A leader of the trans ERG wrote to staff in an internal organizing message that “Netflix has continually failed to show deep care in our mission to Entertain the World by repeatedly releasing content that harms the Trans community and continually failing to create content that represents and uplifts Trans content. We can and must do better!” as per The Verge.