Republican senators attack Netflix CEO over Woke
Senate Republicans grilled Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos during a hearing Tuesday on the streamer’s bid to acquire Warner Bros.’ film and streaming divisions, calling the platform a “left-wing company” that has a history of pushing “woke” and “propaganda.”
The typical entertainment executive was visibly nervous as he faced a barrage of pointed questions about GOP complaints about diversity, political bias and transgender representation in front of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) accused Netflix of having “long been a left-wing company” after a tangent about last Sunday’s politically charged Grammy Awards, which aired on rival media conglomerate Paramount Skydance’s flagship network, News. Paramount Skydance is also vying to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, although shareholders rejected its offer early last month.
After highlighting Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings’ record as a high-spending Democratic donor, Cruz took aim at one of WB’s biggest brands and asked Sarandos how the public could feel “remotely confident” that the marriage between Netflix and Warner Bros. wouldn’t turn them into a joint “propaganda outlet.”
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“CNN is already a dumping ground,” the Texas senator said of the news network, which has long been in the crosshairs of President Donald Trump. “There is no longer anything like objectivity. Nothing like journalism anymore.”
In response, Sarandos emphasized that Netflix is essentially an entertainment business, telling Cruz that when subscribers turn on the streamer, “they are tuned in to be entertained” and that pushing any political agenda would be a “bad business decision.”
Sarandos was also pressured to enter the culture war camp by Missouri Republican senators Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt.
Schmitt complained that “the overwhelming majority of his stuff right now is overwhelmingly woke and doesn’t reflect what the American people want to see.”
“Both you and Netflix have made a habit of promoting DEI and wokeness,” he continued, saying the streamer’s content “is synonymous with the modern phenomenon of racial swapping of characters both historical and real and fictional.”
Anadolu via Getty Images
Bloomberg via Getty Images
Meanwhile, Hawley questioned why Netflix offers children’s programming that “promotes a transgender ideology.”
Sarandos responded to both lines of questioning, telling Show Me State senators, “We have a ton of programming on Netflix for everyone left, right and center. We have cutting-edge tools for parents to manage what their kids watch on Netflix.”
Sarandos didn’t have to defend himself throughout the hearing, as he took the opportunity to offer some touches of flattery, saying he believed President Trump’s scrutiny of the proposed $83 billion deal was fair.
“I think in my experience the president has been nothing but interested in protecting and creating American jobs,” Sarandos said, adding that he believes the merger “will stand on its merits” at the end of the day.
Trump appeared to signal that he was siding with Paramount Skydance in the battle for Warner Bros. Discovery after the entertainment monolith submitted a $108.4 billion hostile bid for the companies in December.
Telling reporters that any deal would have to hinge on promises to revamp CNN, Trump said, “I don’t think the people who run that company right now and run CNN, which is a very dishonest group of people, I don’t think this should be allowed to continue.”