Fired transgender Netflix employee claims they did NOT ‘leak Dave Chappelle’s $24.1M salary’

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The transgender Netflix program manager who was fired for allegedly leaking Dave Chappelle‘s multi-million dollar salary claims they did not share the information, while scolding the streaming giant for its insensitivity toward trans people and its handling of the comedian’s controversial comedy special.

Netflix had confirmed that it fired an employee – who identified themselves as B. Pagels-Minor in a Thursday Op-Ed for the Washington Post – for leaking that it paid Dave Chappelle $24.1 million for his Netflix special ‘The Closer,’ which contains transphobic material. 

Pagels-Minor said that while they were not behind the leak, they did confirm that they were pushing for ‘change’ at the company after sharing ‘Black Trans Lives Matter’ content with executives.

‘I shared my story with Netflix content executives last year as a part of a conversation to facilitate more trans content on the platform. I wasn’t the only one. Trans colleagues remained utterly professional as they also shared their stories,’ wrote Pagels-Minor, who transitioned in 2014 after meeting their now-wife.

‘We asked to be seen as equals. We asked them to recognize our stories, to see that we deserve a place on the platform. We felt vulnerable, but at least they heard us.’  

Pagels-Minor added that the company did not consult with the internal Trans Employee Resource Group before releasing Chappelle’s special, which they characterized as harmful.

‘The release of Chappelle’s special, ‘The Closer,’ happened without consulting the Trans* Employee Resource Group (ERG), of which I was a member and co-leader.’ 

‘The ERG might have recommended not releasing the special — but that if that wasn’t an option, we could have offered other ways to minimize the harm it could do to our community and to the company.’

‘But Netflix didn’t ask for guidance, deeply miscalculating the impact of this inflammatory, inaccurate and dangerous content,’ they continued.

Pagels-Minor had organized an employee walkout Wednesday at the company’s Sunset Boulevard building following an LGBTQ backlash against the comedian over controversial material he used in his Netflix comedy special, and by 7 pm that evening, they had been terminated from the company.

They also cited the ill-planned timing for Chappelle’s Netflix special, which was released during LGBTQ+ history month and a day before the anniversary of the slaying of Matthew Shepard.

‘The ERG could have suggested that the special not be released in October, during LGBTQ+ history month. Perhaps, they could have considered not doing it on October 5, the day before the anniversary of the brutal death of Matthew Shepard, the University of Wyoming student who was beaten, tortured and left to die near Laramie on the night of Oct. 6, 1998.’ 

A spokesperson for the company confirmed on Friday: ‘We have let go of an employee for sharing confidential, commercially sensitive information outside the company. 

‘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.’

Pagels-Minor was fired for sharing that Netflix spent $24.1 million on The Closer and $23.6 million on his 2019 special Sticks & Stones – ‘a charge I firmly deny’ they said in Thursday’s Op-Ed. 

In comparison, the company spent $3.9 million for Bo Burnham’s critically acclaimed comedy special Inside and $21.4 million for Squid Game, which became Netflix’s biggest series launch. 

Netflix‘s CEO Reed Hastings told staff the firm was ‘on the right side of history’ for continuing to stream and promote Dave Chappelle‘s controversial comedy special The Closer.

A leaked transcript from an internal Netflix message board between company employees recorded disagreements about Chappelle’s controversial comedy special.   

Hastings told employees that Chappelle is ‘a unique voice’ as he defended the comedian who has come under fire for his defense of author J.K. Rowling and jokes a vocal few are calling transphobic.    

Transgender employees were so upset by ‘The Closer’ and Netflix’s stance that they joined Pagels-Minor in a staged walkout Wednesday.

When one employee asked if the company was ‘making the wrong historical choice around hate speech’ on the internal message board, Hastings replied ‘To your macro question on being on the right side of history, we will always continue to reflect on the tensions between freedom and safety. 

‘I do believe that our commitment to artistic expression and pleasing our members is the right long term choice for Netflix, and that we are on the right side, but only time will tell,’ according to The New York Times. 

He also noted that Chappelle is popular with viewers, citing the ‘stickiness’ of his most recent special. 

The Closer has scored 96 percent positive reviews from regular viewers on Rotten Tomatoes – but just 43 per cent from woke critics. 

Hastings wrote: ‘The core strategy is to please our members.’  

‘In stand-up comedy, comedians say lots of outrageous things for effect. Some people like the art form, or at least particular comedians, and others do not.’ 

Another employee claimed that the famous comedian had a history of homophobia and bigotry.

Hastings replied: ‘We disagree with your characterization and we’ll continue to work with Dave Chappelle in the future.

‘We see him as a unique voice, but can understand if you or others never want to watch his show.’

He continued: ‘We do not see Dave Chappelle as harmful, or in need of any offset, which we obviously and respectfully disagree on.’ 

This comes as Hastings’ fellow co-chief executive, Ted Sarandos, was dragged by Australian lesbian comedian Hannah Gadsby after he used her comedy specials as examples of the streaming platform’s efforts for inclusivity as he defended Chappelle and his comedy special. 

Sarandos said that Netflix ‘was working hard to ensure marginalized communities aren’t defined by a single story’ specifically noting ‘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.’ 

Gadsby, who has two comedy specials on Netflix, rose to fame after her first special Nanette began streaming on Netflix in 2018. 

She posted on Instagram asking Sarandos not to ‘drag [her] name into [his] mess.’

‘F**k you and your amoral algorithm cult…’ she wrote. 

Sarandos addressed staff anger over Netflix’s decision to stream The Closer in a company wide email. 

‘We know that a number of you have been left angry, disappointed and hurt by our decision to put Dave Chappelle’s latest special on Netflix,’ Sarandos wrote in the email, obtained by Variety.

‘With ‘The Closer,’ we understand that the concern is not about offensive-to-some content but titles which could increase real world harm (such as further marginalizing already marginalized groups, hate, violence etc.)

‘Last year, we heard similar concerns about 365 Days and violence against women. While some employees disagree, we have a strong belief that content on screen doesn’t directly translate to real-world harm,’ he continued.

Movie 365 Days, referenced by Sarandos, is about an Italian mafia boss who kidnaps a woman he’s infatuated with and demands she spend the next year in his villa.

The movie was slammed by survivors of sexual assault, with singer Duffy writing in an open letter to CEO and co-founder Reed Hastings that it ‘glamorizes the brutal reality of sex trafficking, kidnapping and rape.’

Sarandos’ memo continued, ‘The strongest evidence to support this is that violence on screens has grown hugely over the last thirty years, especially with first party shooter games, and yet violent crime has fallen significantly in many countries. 

‘Adults can watch violence, assault and abuse – or enjoy shocking stand-up comedy – without it causing them to harm others,’ he said.

GLAAD, a queer media watchdog, contested Sarandos’ claim, with a spokesperson telling Variety the organization was ‘founded 36 years ago because media representation has consequences for LGBTQ people.

‘Authentic media stories about LGBTQ lives have been cited as directly responsible for increasing public support for issues like marriage equality,’ they said.

‘But film and TV have also been filled with stereotypes and misinformation about us for decades, leading to real world harm, especially for trans people and LGBTQ people of color. Ironically, the documentary ‘Disclosure’ on Netflix demonstrates this quite clearly. 

In The Closer, Chapelle backed author J.K. Rowling over her comments on gender, said ‘gender is a fact’, and announced ‘I’m team TERF.’ TERF stands for Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist.

The term is generally used by some trans people and their allies to attack others who disagree with some parts of their call for equality for Trans people.

Hot button issues include whether trans women and girls should be allowed to compete against girls in some sports, whether trans women should be able to access certain spaces – including women’s prisons and domestic violence shelters – and whether children who believe themselves to be trans should be given hormones to delay the onset of puberty. 

Those who have criticized Chapelle’s jokes have specifically cited the physical danger faced by the trans community as a result of anti-trans ideology. 

The family of a trans woman who Chappelle said was hounded to death for defending his jokes in a 2019 Netflix show have slammed the woke mob trying to cancel him, saying they do not know how much he did for her.

Daphne Dorman was 44 when she killed herself in 2019 after defending her friend Chappelle for jokes made during a Netflix special that year.

‘When she did that, the trans community dragged that b**** through Twitter,’ Chappelle told the audience in The Closer. 

‘For days, they was going in on her and she was on her own because she’s funny,’ he continued, hinting the harassment might have contributed to her suicide.

‘It’s a true story; my heart was broken. I don’t know what was going on, but I’ll bet dragging her didn’t help.’

Dorman, who began transitioning to a woman in 2014, was an up-and-coming comedian who opened a show for Chappelle.

Her humor veiled a dark past mired by a troubled childhood that left her with severe PTSD, her family said.

But despite her inner demons, she tapped into her comedy to make the world around her laugh, her sister said.

Her sister brushed off critics who have slammed Chappelle’s transgender jokes, saying the comedian ‘loved’ Dorman and said people cannot demand that ‘everyone see it your way’.