Ted Sarandos Partial Admission of Error in Defense of Chappelle’s ‘The Closer’

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Sometimes we become so task oriented that we forget the necessity of humanity in our interactions with people. That increases the likelihood of negative impact, unfavorable judgment, conflict and consequences. Just ask Ted Sarandos, who experienced a highly-reported-on walkout by employees.

The Netflix co-CEO defended his company’s distribution of comedian Dave Chappelle’s special The Closer that resulted in hurt feelings, anger and criticism, especially in the transgender and the LGBTQ+ community. In the culture of labeling, Chappelle’s work was deemed and labeled transphobic. Sarando’s response seemed reasonable to him and many business leaders when he communicated, the company greatly values "artistic expression."

He decided for himself that all was good, adding Netflix doesn’t get involved in products “that are designed to incite hate or violence, and we don’t believe The Closer crosses that line.”

Sarandos now realizes, either due to self-reflection or intensified criticism, that he erred, at least in his words. He — or communication leadership representing Netflix — communicated remorse with emotional intelligence and eloquence.

“Obviously, I screwed up that internal communication. 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,” he said, adding “And I think that needs to be acknowledged up front before you get into the nuts and bolts of anything.”

Let’s briefly examine this communication:

“I screwed up.” Let’s face it, that’s what people who are upset want to hear, psychologically need to hear. Sarandos had the humility and courage — never a given with human beings, especially those with ego and in authority and power — to express it.

“I should have led with a lot more humility.” This shows people that you understand that you know you fell woefully short of self-control and compassion. This is a show of respect. It is an acknowledgement of deficiency of character in an interaction. Critics now might start to feel you are worthy of listening to further.

“I had a group of employees who were definitely feeling pain and hurt from a decision we made…” Sarandos shows that he now realizes that he failed to be sensitive and show compassionate support for people who feel, as the popular phrase goes, “marginalized” and victimized. Sarandos ties the decision — his and Netflix — with the hurt and pain. This is a confession. It takes courage to offer it.

“And I think that needs to be acknowledged up front before you get into the nuts and bolts of anything.” This sentence speaks to the lack of empathy and humanity being an error in communication in the process of explaining a business decision. Sarandos is not saying he regrets the distribution of the criticized content — more on that in a moment — but that he should have focused on respect and relationship first, not the task of explaining the business decision.

In another interview, Sarandos tried to explain how Netflix approaches what to offer the buying public, saying "my stance hasn't changed" about streaming Chappelle’s latest special, "We do tell our employees upfront that we are trying to entertain our members, and that some of the content on Netflix you’re not going to like," the Hollywood Reporter wrote. "The inclusion of the special on Netflix is consistent with our comedy offering [and is]… one of those times when there’s something on Netflix that you’re not going to like."

That commentary by Sarandos will undo a lot of any goodwill he hoped to build, conflict he aimed to mitigate or crisis he wanted to extinguish. Maybe that’s not fair in the minds of business leaders or much of the public yet psychology of apology and how human beings react to what is perceived as lip service to concerns is predictable. Impression management will usually earn scorn, further distrust and confirmation bias moving forward. It’s a reckless, arrogant strategy.

No one person or group likes to feel like their concerns don’t matter and they are being deceived through finesse of communications. Saying something and meaning it and being believable and trustworthy are different matters.

Netflix’s commitment to its decision might impress a certain portion of the public, maybe the majority, yet it will inflict sustained “pain and hurt,” and invite ongoing criticism and consequences.

Sarandos and fellow Netflix leaders have likely deemed that risk and cost less than the benefits of its stance on this conflict.