You’ve probably come across #CancelNetflix hashtags or heard calls for a Netflix boycott on social media, but it’s hard to get a clear picture from TikTok or Instagram alone. Over the years, Netflix faced backlash over various issues, including some of its controversial shows, password-sharing crackdowns, film removals, and political stances.

Our experts have gathered the most prominent Netflix boycotts and controversies from news articles, press releases, and the company’s official website. You’ll find a detailed overview of each controversy, along with the consequences it had on Netflix’s business.

Netflix Boycott – Key Facts

  • Netflix faced multiple boycotts in 2024, mainly about removing 19 Palestinian films and endorsing Kamala Harris.
  • Its past controversies included pay discrepancies, inappropriate content, show cancelations, and more.
  • Despite the controversies, Netflix’s subscriber numbers steadily increased between 2013 and 2024, with occasional declines.

Netflix Boycotts and Controversies

The controversies of Netflix resurfaced in 2024, sparked by two separate events: the company’s decision not to renew the licenses of 19 Palestinian films and its co-founder Reed Hastings donating millions of dollars in support of Kamala Harris.

Here is a closer look at these controversies, along with a recap of some of Netflix’s past issues:

Palestinian Films’ Removal

On the October 13, 2024, users noticed a pattern in the films marked “Leaving Soon” on Netflix — at least 19 of them were about Palestinians or Palestine.

Freedom Forward, a human rights group, wrote an open letter to Netflix, calling the streaming platform to explain its decision. “We are deeply concerned that Netflix’s deletion of nearly its entire library of Palestinian films will further marginalize Palestinian voices at a time when over two million Palestinians in Gaza are being subjected to genocide by the Israeli military,” wrote the organization.

Many social media users announced they would cancel their subscriptions and boycott the streaming service.

Netflix spoke to Deadline about the matter, denying it deleted its entire library of Palestinian films. Launched in 2021 as a part of a series called Palestinian Stories, these films were licensed for three years, which expired in 2024.

Sunjeev Bery, Executive Director of Freedom Forward also spoke to Deadline about Netflix’s decision. “I suspected that licensing issues may be at play. At a time of such significant pain and suffering for Palestinians, it seems clear that Netflix should be doing everything in its power to maintain global public access to Palestinian films,” he said.

Trump Supporters’ Netflix Boycott

In 2024, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings endorsed Kamala Harris in the US presidential election.

When Harris announced her candidacy on July 21st, Hastings wrote “Congrats to Kamala Harris — now it is time to win”, on X, formerly known as Twitter. Before the candidacy announcement, Reed Hastings had spoken to the New York Times and said that President Joe Biden must step aside.

Four days after he congratulated Harris on X, Variety reported that Hastings donated $7 million to a super PAC supporting Harris. This sparked a boycott among the supporters of former president Donald Trump, as #CancelNetflix trended on X.

According to a Bloomberg report, subscribers in the US canceled Netflix at a rate of 2.8% in July, marking the highest monthly cancelation rate since February. It’s worth noting that in the same month, Netflix started to phase out its cheapest ad-free plan, so the reason behind the cancelations is likely to be a combination of both politics and consumer costs.

Pay Discrepancy Boycott

In 2018, Academy Award-winning actress Mo’Nique called her fans to boycott Netflix.

“I am asking that you stand with me and boycott Netflix for gender bias and color bias. I was offered a $500,000 deal last week to do a comedy special. However, Amy Schumer was offered $11 million, Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle $20 million,” she said.

 

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A post shared by Mo’nique (@therealmoworldwide)

She also pointed out that Amy Schumer was able to negotiate a raise, and that as a successful actress, she deserved to be paid the same amount as the others.

In 2019, Mo’Nique sued Netflix for failing to negotiate in good faith. The judge sided with Mo’Nique, and the case was settled in 2022.

Netflix launched a comedy special called My Name Is Mo’Nique in 2023.

Show Cancelation Boycotts

Netflix has faced boycotts when it announced it wouldn’t be renewing certain shows.

One of these shows was Kaos, a 2024 dark comedy series based on Greek mythology. Kaos started strong, peaking in its second week with 5.9 million views, but experienced a sharp decline later on.

Fans were disappointed about Netflix’s decision and called others to cancel their Netflix subscriptions on X and Reddit.

Other shows the streaming platform canceled include That 90’s Show, Warrior Nun, and 1899, which sparked further backlash on social media.

Password Sharing Controversy

In April 2023, Netflix shared in a stakeholder letter that a password-sharing crackdown would arrive in the US. The crackdown restricts users from sharing their Netflix password outside of a household, so more users have to purchase subscriptions. Subscribers also have the option to add an extra member for an additional fee.

People’s initial reactions suggested that Netflix would face a backlash. A March 2022 survey investigated whether users would cancel their subscriptions if Netflix charged extra for account sharing. Among 3,095 respondents, 45% said they’d be very likely to cancel and 28% said they’d be somewhat likely to cancel.

How likely are US Netflix users to cancel their subscription if Netflix begins charging extra for account sharing - eMarketer

When the password-sharing decision was announced, Netflix faced a backlash, with some users calling the platform greedy.

Despite what people said, the password crackdown boosted Netflix’s profits. In the first three months of 2024, the company made $2.3 billion in profits and signed 9.3 million more customers.

Following Netflix’s success, other streaming platforms including Disney Plus, Hulu, and Max implemented similar restrictions.

Ad-Free Plan Controversy

In 2024, Netflix started phasing out its cheapest ad-free plan. This meant that to be able to watch Netflix without ads, users would need to upgrade their plan.

Netflix talked about the change in its Q4 2023 shareholder letter. “The ads plan now accounts for 40% of all Netflix sign-ups in our ads markets and we’re looking to retire our Basic plan in some of our ads countries, starting with Canada and the UK in Q2 and taking it from there,” wrote the streaming giant.

Subscribers criticized Netflix’s decision on Reddit.

“What’s the point of paying if it’s just gonna give you ads the same as TV?? Like they’re literally making us pay for the “privilege” to watch ads,” wrote one user.

Academy Awards Controversy

Netflix’s place in the Academy Awards scene created discussions, especially when the Netflix Original film Roma received 10 Oscar nominations in 2019.

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Steven Spielberg was one of the first to criticize. “Steven feels strongly about the difference between the streaming and theatrical situation. He’ll be happy if the others will join [his campaign] when that comes up [at the Academy Board of Governors meeting]. He will see what happens,” said a spokesperson from Spielberg’s film production company to IndieWire.

According to Spielberg, Netflix films should only qualify for Emmy Awards, not Academy Awards. “Once you commit to a television format, you’re a TV movie. If it’s a good show, you deserve an Emmy. But not an Oscar,” he told ITV.

After the criticisms, Netflix shared a post explaining how it contributed to cinema and the entertainment industry.

The Academy said it wouldn’t change its rules, and that streaming services would be able to submit their films for the next Awards.

Baby Reindeer Lawsuit

Richard Gadd’s limited Netflix series Baby Reindeer draws from his real-life experiences and includes a stalker character named Martha.

A woman named Fiona Harvey claimed that the character was based on her and sued Netflix for $170 million in June 2024.

Harvey has accused Netflix of defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, gross negligence, and violations of her right to publicity. She denied stalking Richard Gadd and sending him thousands of emails. Gadd responded by saying Harvey was not named in the series and that it was a fictionalized version of his story.

Netflix attempted to dismiss the defamation lawsuit but failed. The judge said the series explicitly presented itself as a true story, which led viewers to accept its claims as factual.

Monsters Controversy

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is a 2024 Netflix series based on the real-life story of Lyle and Erik Menendez, two brothers who killed their parents in 1989.

In a 1993 trial, the brothers said killing their parents was out of self-defense, as they were emotionally, physically, and sexually abused. They were found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, the series features Javier Bardem as Jose Menendez, Chloë Sevigny as Kitty Menendez, Nicholas Alexander Chavez as Lyle Menendez, and Cooper Koch as Erik Menendez.

The Menendez family wasn’t happy with Netflix’s portrayal.

Erik Menendez’s wife Tammi Menendez shared her husband’s response on X. “It is sad for me to know that Netflix’s dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crime have taken the painful truths several steps backward — back through time to an era when the prosecution built a narrative on a belief system that males were not sexually abused, and that males experienced rape trauma differently than women,” he wrote.

The extended family of the Menendez brothers also showed their support, calling out the show for its inaccuracies.

One of these falsehoods the family mentioned is likely related to Episode 2, where Erik and Lyle kiss each other. This scene drew criticisms from viewers, including a fan who wrote “The Menendez brothers were victims of sexual abuse who finally retaliated against their abusers and this disgusting piece of trash has turned their story into an incestuous fanfic,” on X.

“There’s an incestuous part of the show, but it’s so tiny. It maybe is less than 1% of the show, but people have glommed onto that as if we’re presenting it as fact. No, we’re not. We’re presenting it as a theory, one of many theories that exist about this case,” said the show’s creator Ryan Murphy in an interview with Tudum.

The show remains controversial, but it did draw attention to the Menendez case. Public figures like Kim Kardashian visited the brothers in prison and called the local authorities to reconsider the case.

Monsters isn’t the only controversial series Netflix has produced.

Here is a summary of the controversies surrounding other Netflix shows and actors:

  • 13 Reasons Why: 13 Reasons Why was criticized for glamorizing suicide and mental health issues. Schools warned parents about the drama series, as it showed a teen committing suicide. Netflix ended up editing out the suicide scene in the first season.
  • Cleopatra: In Netflix’s docudrama Cleopatra, Queen Cleopatra is portrayed by an African actress. Several Egyptian officials found this problematic, with some accusing Netflix of erasing Egyptian identity. Netflix responded by saying her ethnicity was not the focus of the series.
  • The First Temptation of Christ: A Brazilian satirical comedy, The First Temptation of Christ featured a gay Jesus. Over 1.8 million people signed a petition for the platform to remove the show and for its creators to apologize.
  • Blonde: A 2022 movie about Marilyn Monroe’s life, Blonde’s critics said it disrespected the actress’s legacy and misrepresented sensitive topics like abortion.
  • Kevin Spacey: Actor Anthony Rapp alleged that House of Cards star Kevin Spacey sexually abused him in 1986. At the time, Spacey was 27 and Rapp was 15. Spacey apologized to Rapp, which he later claimed was advised by his publicist. After his apology, Netflix removed Spacey from the cast of House of Cards. In 2022, a jury sided with Spacey, saying he did not molest Rapp. Kevin Spacey expressed his disappointment in Netflix’s decision.
  • Cuties: A 2020 French drama, Cuties faced backlash for one of its posters, as critics said it sexualized minors. Netflix apologized and removed the image.
  • Trigger Warning: The 2024 film was accused of racism against Arabs, especially with the tensions escalating in the Middle East.

What Can We Learn From the Netflix Boycotts and Controversies?

Netflix is the largest entertainment company with over 280 million paid subscribers.

Number of Netflix paid subscribers worldwide from 1st quarter 2013 to 3rd quarter 2024

After experiencing its first decline in subscribers in 2022 due to increased competition and economic factors, the platform made several changes to its business model, although some created controversies.

Here are some lessons from Netflix:

Data-Driven Experimentation Before Big Changes

Despite the initial backlash, Netflix moved forward with the password-sharing crackdown. That said, it didn’t launch the new policy overnight.

To decide what to do, Netflix tested two methods in Latin America, a region where password sharing was common. The first method was a pay-per-household method, and the second one was a more flexible approach, allowing subscribers to add an extra member to their existing plan.

The second method led to more upgrades, so the company launched it in other regions.

Netflix Extra Member feature explanation

If Netflix checked the survey results about users considering cancelations, it might have decided against launching password sharing. Instead, the company tested new strategies and analyzed results. This helped minimize risk and generated data on actual consumer behavior.

Social Responsibility for Brands

Netflix faced backlash when it decided not to renew licenses for 19 Palestinian films. As for the reason why it did not renew, the company gave a very neutral answer, saying the licenses had expired. It didn’t mention the ongoing war and the delicate situation.

Although risky, taking a stance on political and social issues can build customer loyalty. A good example is when Nike supported racial justice with a Colin Kaepernick campaign. Kaepernick had previously drawn criticism for not standing up during the national anthem. The year it launched the ad, Nike’s sales rose by 31%.

Despite its high sales numbers, Nike experienced backlash, as people found Kaepernick controversial.

Netflix also faced backlash, although it took a safer, more neutral stance.

Neutral stances do not necessarily protect brands from boycotts. In fact, according to Bloomberg, one in three customers are boycotting brands based on the war in Gaza. On a more general note, a McKinsey survey found that 90% of Gen Z consumers expect brands to address environmental and social issues.

There’s no right or wrong answer on whether your brand should take a stance on political, social, and environmental issues. However, it’s important to know that backlash can occur either way, so it’s best to make decisions that align with the brand.

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