Netflix is facing calls for a boycott this week after reports that its co-founder made a large donation to Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign.
Netflix is facing calls for a boycott this week after reports that its co-founder made a large donation to Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign.
On Thursday, Variety reported that Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings made a donation worth $7 million toward a super PAC backing Harris’s presidential campaign. According to Variety, this was the largest single donation ever made to a political campaign by Hastings.
“After the depressing debate, we are in the game again,” Hastings told Variety.
Hastings also showed his support for Harris in a post on X this week saying “Congrats to Kamala Harris — now it is time to win.”
Over the weekend, President Joe Biden announced that he was stepping down from the 2024 presidential race and throwing his support behind Harris. Biden faced repeated calls to get out of the presidential race following his performance in the presidential debate against former President Donald Trump.
“My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term. My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this,” Biden said in a post on X.
However, the donation from Hastings prompted a number of social media users to criticize Netflix and plan a boycott against the movie and TV streaming service. Many of those calling for a boycott identified themselves as conservatives or supports of the MAGA movement on social media.
X user Vicki McCann responded to a post about the donation and said, “Boycott Netflix. I’m canceling my subscription @netflix.”
X user Sulaiman Ahmed said, “BOYCOTT NETFLIX.”
Former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis also responded to the news on X saying “This is only the beginning.”
X user @honey_bee48 shared a video canceling a Netflix subscription and wrote, “For real, cancel Netflix this is the last time for me I will never pay for them again. There are to many free apps that have the same s*** to watch. The co founder donated over 7m to kamala campaign fook them!”
Dr. Taylor Marshall shared a screenshot mentioning the donation and said: “We already canceled Netflix a long time ago, but if you have not done so already, it’s now time to #CancelNetflix.”
Newsweek reached out to Netflix and a spokesperson for the Harris campaign via email for comment.
On Friday morning, former President Barack Obama also announced an endorsement of Harris saying “Earlier this week, Michelle and I called our friend @KamalaHarris. We told her we think she’ll make a fantastic President of the United States, and that she has our full support. At this critical moment for our country, we’re going to do everything we can to make sure she wins in November. We hope you’ll join us.
