The story surrounding Dave Chappelle’s polarizing new Netflix special The Closer thickens. The streamer has fired an employee who leaked confidential fiscal information to Bloomberg, which was used in an article published on Wednesday.
Netflix released information via the Hollywood Reporter on Friday explaining the situation.
“We have let go of an employee for sharing confidential, commercially sensitive information outside the company,” a spokesperson told the magazine. “We understand this employee may have been motivated by disappointment and hurt with Netflix, but maintaining a culture of trust and transparency is core to our company.”
According to Bloomberg’s report, Netflix spent $24.1 million on The Closer, which is more than they dished out for Squid Game, which shaping up to be the streamer’s most successful series ever. Netflix spent $21.4 million for the Korean drama series, while they spent $23.6 on Chappelle’s last special, Sticks and Stones, as well as a measly $3.9 million on Bo Burnham’s celebrated special Inside.
This firing also puts Netflix under more scrutiny as the company tries to quell internal frustrations from its employees. The recently fired employee has since been revealed to be the leader of Netflix’s trans employee resource group, who was planning a walkout on Oct. 20.
Netflix just fired the organizer of the trans employee walkout
In an interview with theVerge, they explain their frustration with the company’s move.
“All these white people are going around talking to the press and speaking publicly on Twitter and the only person who gets fired is the Black person who was quiet the entire time,” they say. “That’s absurd, and just further shows that Black trans people are the ones being targeted in this conversation.”
The former employee also says they spoke out against the leaks to colleagues because they feared the walkout would be compromised. It is unclear whether the walkout will continue as planned now that the internal group’s leader has been fired.
