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Can Ted Sarandos Clean Up His Chappelle Mess?

Netflix’s economic rationale for defending Chappelle’s transphobic routine has deepened an internal crisis that is not going away. When I texted Hollywood executives and comms pros this week about how the streamer is managing the controversy, a consensus emerged: Good policy, horrible P.R.

Dave Chappelle and Ted Sarandos
Screenshot via Netflix
Matthew Belloni
October 15, 2021

The last time I was at Ted Sarandos’ house, in late summer 2020 to interview him and wife Nicole Avant for a Town and Country magazine profile, I took a moment to peruse the bookshelves of the sitting room. Next to framed pics of the Netflix co-C.E.O. with various Democratic politicians sat book after book by and about comedy legends: Carl Reiner, Jerry Seinfeld, Richard Pryor, Tina Fey, Judd Apatow, Steve Martin, and so on. A veritable library of comedians.