{"id":275453,"date":"2025-10-03T20:44:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-03T20:44:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/275453\/"},"modified":"2025-10-03T20:44:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T20:44:13","slug":"why-elon-musk-and-marjorie-taylor-greene-are-boycotting-netflix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/275453\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Elon Musk and Marjorie Taylor Greene are boycotting Netflix."},"content":{"rendered":"

Sign up for the Slatest<\/a> to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily.<\/p>\n

Years after taking heat<\/a> from viewers and employees for backing Dave Chappelle\u2019s transphobic<\/a> specials, Netflix is now facing down a stream of online rage for being too pro-trans, apparently. This week, a boycott campaign took off on X, spearheaded by far-right transphobe<\/a> Chaya \u201cLibs of TikTok\u201d Raichik, over the presence of children\u2019s series and movies that feature such horrific scenes as a boy wearing a dress (gasp!), a transgender character talking to reporters<\/a> (egad!), and a kid telling a robot about the term nonbinary (gadzooks!!). This has escalated to accusations of Netflix \u201cgrooming children,\u201d which have been boosted by X owner Elon Musk<\/a> and by elected Republican lawmakers<\/a>. (One of them is now threatening to drag Netflix executives in front of Congress<\/a>, while Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has referred to a cartoon series as \u201cabuse<\/a>\u201d and promoted her law to ban gender-affirming care.) As of Friday, various X accounts are continuing to air out what they find so objectionable on Netflix, from its production deal with the Obamas to its employees, while promoting alternative streaming services and programming to their rage-baited followers. The corporation itself has not commented on the matter.<\/p>\n

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This goes way beyond cancelling Netflix<\/p>\n

This is you fighting back and taking a stand<\/p>\n

This is you saying this is what happens when you come after my kids<\/p>\n

This is what you get when you force this insanity on us<\/p>\n

This is you declaring, I’m done with the crap<\/p>\n

Enough is enough<\/p>\n

Go\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/wBAfYdV7S6<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 X Freeze (@amXFreeze) October 1, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Netflix boycott threats are a common tactic on the right, as ironically evidenced by Raichik herself, who\u2019s been sharing screenshots of old Charlie Kirk tweets<\/a> calling the company \u201ca pedophile streaming platform.\u201d (One user who claimed to be canceling their subscription was revealed to have said they\u2019d previously canceled their Netflix account last year, and the year before that<\/a>.) The online anti-trans fury does feel a touch more powerful this round, with sympathetic leaders in government who will gladly join something as stupid as the brigade against Cracker Barrel\u2019s logo change<\/a>. But, considering Netflix\u2019s own right-wing bona fides, will this actually lead to an ideological protest on par with the Disney+\/Hulu cancellations that spurred the reinstatement of Jimmy Kimmel\u2019s show<\/a>? Here\u2019s an explainer for how this campaign against Netflix kicked off, what it really means for the streaming business, and why this may not have the oft-noted \u201cBud Light<\/a>\u201d impact.<\/p>\n

Man, how did we get here?<\/strong><\/p>\n

This all began Monday, when Raichik shared a clip<\/a> from the Netflix Original animated series Dead End: Paranormal Park, which ran for only two seasons and was canceled in 2023\u2014but which, Raichik incorrectly posited<\/a>, was being actively \u201cpromoted\u201d on Netflix Kids. The 40-second segment involves a character finding affirmation in their trans identity, in a monologue that ends with another character making an unrelated joke. Raichik, whose posts have long inspired vigilante threats<\/a> against schools and hospitals with trans-inclusive policies, then targeted<\/a> show creator Hamish Steele, an award-winning trans cartoonist in London who\u2019d referred to Charlie Kirk as a \u201crandom nazi\u201d in a post-assassination tweet. (Steele, who has locked their X account, posted about receiving \u201cextremely nasty weird homophobic and antisemitic emails<\/a>\u201d in the aftermath and is now taking a social media break.)<\/p>\n

Elon Musk hopped on to say that the perfectly anodyne Dead End clip was \u201cnot ok,\u201d and Raichik claimed soon after<\/a> that the Tesla CEO had ended his Netflix subscription. By Tuesday, Libs of TikTok had posted a screenshot of her cancel-confirmation email and encouraged others to do the same. The voice actor behind the Dead End character responded directly to Raichik, speaking to his own trans identity and writing on X<\/a>, \u201cyou can fear monger all you want, but kids & parents have told me [the show] saved their lives!!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2026 That was it? A clip from an already-ended show that wasn\u2019t even being promoted got Libs of TikTok all hopping mad?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, after the Musk boost, she felt empowered to attack other movies and shows, however flimsily. On Wednesday, she highlighted Transformer: Earthspark<\/a>, an animated kids\u2019 sitcom that was commissioned for Paramount+<\/a> in 2022. A Strawberry Shortcake TV movie from 2023 (which was also not a Netflix Original) earned her anger for featuring a male character who wears a dress<\/a>. Another long-canceled Netflix show, the 2020\u201321 Baby-Sitters Club revival, came to her attention for a scene where a girl corrects hospital staff<\/a> on her bedridden friend\u2019s gender identity. And then Raichik went after another Paramount+ original, 2022\u2019s Monster High: The Movie, which is reportedly streaming on Netflix U.K. and had committed the sin of having two characters introduce each other with their preferred pronouns<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Really, these are harmless and brief segments weaponized on behalf of a conservative movement that\u2019s been seeking to erase<\/a> transgender identity altogether, from pseudoscientific efforts<\/a> to outlaw gender-affirming care for minors to scrubbing trans Americans<\/a> from historical monuments. To these cruel people, the very depiction of a transgender person is tantamount to indoctrination, as is the (to them) inconvenient reality that young people do experience gender dysphoria<\/a> and can understand the concept of gender fluidity. If you\u2019ve imbibed enough far-right propaganda to become a J.K. Rowling type who believes that top surgery is \u201cmutilation,\u201d then anything about trans people will make you feel upset.<\/p>\n

I seem to recall that Elon Musk is <\/strong>estranged from his trans daughter<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Indeed, and that\u2019s spurred his mission to defeat the \u201cwoke mind virus.\u201d He\u2019s made nice with quite a few other transphobes lately, including Graham Linehan, the Father Ted and IT Crowd creator who was briefly arrested in London last month<\/a> for tweets that invited readers to \u201cpunch\u201d trans women \u201cin the balls\u201d if they\u2019re situated in women-oriented spaces. (Linehan later wrote on Substack that this was \u201ca serious point made with a joke\u201d and \u201cnot a call to violence.\u201d) Linehan, who has a lengthy record<\/a> of transphobic rhetoric, announced his own Netflix cancellation<\/a> on X in a Wednesday tweet that was celebrated by Musk. More paid-blue-check accounts<\/a> who lied that Netflix is losing \u201cmillions\u201d of customers joined in the fun throughout Wednesday, while God\u2019s Not Dead actor Kevin Sorbo<\/a> and his wife<\/a> posted videos praising Raichik and Musk, with the former using the opportunity to also promote the \u201cChristian publishing company\u201d Brave Books\u2014which happens to have a paid streaming service for kids<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ah yes, it\u2019s grifting time.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Better believe it! The Christian production company Angel Studios (best known for Sound of Freedom<\/a>) soon began trending<\/a> on X, as paid-check accounts recommended its streaming platform as a Netflix alternative. More enterprising users dug in and found that the Texan venture capital firm Gigafund, known for employing many Musk lackeys who\u2019ve invested in his enterprises (SpaceX, the Boring Company, Neuralink), had helmed a multimillion-dollar fundraising round<\/a> for Angel Studios back in 2022. Some of the more Christian nationalist types on X have objected<\/a> to Angel\u2019s history with Mormon founders, however. (Notably, no one seems to be recommending Truth Social\u2019s homegrown streaming service<\/a>. Sad!)<\/p>\n

Eeesh, what a weird social network.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Right? You could see more evidence of this throughout the week, as other activists dug into every Netflix corner they could to \u201cexpose<\/a>\u201d the company as an indoctrination factory. One tweeted out a trans-character-centered article<\/a> from Netflix\u2019s in-house publication, Tudum, posted earlier this year in honor of International Trans Day of Visibility. This user also shared a May 2024 Netflix press release<\/a> that touted its Fund for Creative Equity\u2019s support of the Transgender Film Center\u2019s Career Development Lab. Raichik, meanwhile, extended her purview to target other Netflix titles like the popular 2023 movie Leave the World Behind<\/a>, an Obama-produced feature that she accused of \u201chating white people\u201d despite including many prominent white people in its cast. From there, individual Netflix investors who\u2019d worked in diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives were singled out as part and parcel of a \u201cchild grooming epidemic<\/a>.\u201d Anti-DEI crusader and Meta employee<\/a> Robby Starbuck was mortified by the fact that various Netflix executives attended a corporate workshop in 2019<\/a> that centered on privilege and allyship.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Laura Kate Dale
\n This Video Game Was a Safe Haven for Millions. Now It Belongs to People Who Hate Them.
\n Read More<\/b>\n <\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t get it, though. Hasn\u2019t Netflix taken a right-wing tack recently?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Correct! CEO Ted Sarandos has dined at Mar-a-Lago<\/a> with Donald Trump. Netflix signed a deal with reactionary comic Tony Hinchcliffe<\/a> not long after the Kill Tony founder made that racist joke about Puerto Ricans<\/a> at Trump\u2019s Madison Square Garden rally. The streamer also partnered last year<\/a> with Shane Gillis, the stand-up comedian who was infamously fired<\/a> from Saturday Night Live in 2019 after his racist anti-Asian podcast segments were unearthed. (Gillis continues to hang out with outright racists<\/a> on his podcasts, and Netflix has produced other stand-up specials with open anti-Asian racism<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

    \n
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    This Controversial Actress Looks Exactly Like Me. I\u2019m Horrified.
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  2. \n <\/p>\n

    The Frightening Reason Some Women Are Ditching Their Oura Rings
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  3. \n <\/p>\n

    This Video Game Was a Safe Haven for Millions. Now It Belongs to People Who Hate Them.
    \n <\/a>\n <\/li>\n

  4. \n <\/p>\n

    Hollywood\u2019s Most Terrifying Nightmare Has Arrived
    \n <\/a>\n <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Chairman Reed Hastings may have inadvertently fueled another conservative cancellation cycle<\/a> last year when he donated to Kamala Harris\u2019 campaign, but he\u2019s consistently defended Dave Chappelle\u2019s transphobia, and his company has frequently backed \u201canti-woke\u201d entertainment<\/a> like the reality show Snowflake Mountain and a whole host of stand-up specials whose titles riff on the onetime buzzword triggered<\/a>. In 2022, after Elon Musk accused Netflix of harboring the \u201cwoke mind virus,\u201d company leadership dropped certain deals<\/a> with Black producers like Ava DuVernay and Ibram X. Kendi.<\/p>\n

    These guys get mad about Netflix pretty often, don\u2019t they?<\/strong><\/p>\n

    They do, which is why I\u2019m not convinced that this round will leave any lasting damage on the service. The right-wing outrage over the 2020 film Cuties<\/a> revved up many of the same talking points we see now, and multiple surveys demonstrate that Netflix\u2019s customer base remains overwhelmingly<\/a> liberal<\/a>. (Notably, Tesla stock also took a little dive on Friday, perhaps because Musk\u2019s crusade is reawakening shareholder fears that he\u2019s engaging in politics<\/a> again.)<\/p>\n

    All of which is to say: Conservatives only have so many accounts they can cancel, and the Streisand effect may just spur liberal viewers to check out the shows and movies that the far-right is binge-watching for content.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

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