ネトフリ社屋前でデモ　「トランス嫌悪」のコメディー配信に抗議

【ロサンゼルスＡＦＰ＝時事】米ロサンゼルスにある動画配信大手ネットフリックスの社屋前で２０日、コメディアンのデイヴ・シャペルさんの新作コメディー番組に抗議するデモが行われた。今月配信が始まったこの番組をめぐっては、トランスジェンダーの人々の権利を踏みにじり、ヘイトスピーチで金もうけをしていると怒りの声が上がっている。（写真は米ロサンゼルスで、動画配信大手ネットフリックスの配信するコメディー番組に抗議し、トランスジェンダーの同社従業員の職場放棄に支持を表明する人々）
　ネットフリックスの従業員も数十人が職場を放棄して抗議デモに参加し、ハリウッドに君臨する巨大企業に表現の改善を求めた。
　デモに参加したネットフリックス・アニメーションの従業員デバン・マクグラスさんは、「トランスやノンバイナリーの従業員は、雇用主がこれらの人々を傷付ける恐れのあるコンテンツを世界に向けて配信している限り、安全ではないと思う」と訴えた。
　問題のコメディー番組「デイヴ・シャペルのこれでお開き」の中で、シャペルさんは「ジェンダーは事実だ」と述べ、性的少数者（ＬＧＢＴＱ）の人々を「過敏」になっていると非難している。
　番組をめぐる論争が拡大する中、ネットフリックスの最高コンテンツ責任者を務めるテッド・サランドス共同最高経営責任者が先週「画面上のコンテンツは現実世界の害悪に直接結びつくものではない」と主張し、「芸術的自由」を守ることが重要だと強調する文書を従業員に送っていたことが発覚。サランドス氏は１９日に失言だったと認めたが、同社は対応に追われている。
　デモ参加者らは、番組に警告文を追加することや、配信内容と社内の両方でＬＧＢＴＱ人材への投資を増やすことなどを盛り込んだ「要望書」を読み上げた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/10/22-14:29）

Protestors gathered outside Netflix in Los Angeles on Wednesday, angry over a new Dave Chappelle comedy special that has sparked accusations the streamer is trampling transgender rights and profiting from hate speech.
A few dozen staff walked off the job and were joined by a similar number of trans activists and their supporters for a demonstration calling for better representation at the Hollywood giant.
I think that trans and non-binary employees aren't safe as long as their employer is putting out content in the world that could harm them, said Netflix Animation employee Devan McGrath, participating in the walkout.
Netflix has scrambled to respond to the unusually public controversy it is facing over Chappelle's The Closer, in which the stand-up star insists gender is a fact and accuses LGBTQ people of being too sensitive.
The company issued a statement before the protest Wednesday saying: We understand the deep hurt that's been caused and respect the decision of any employee who chooses to walk out.
Rally organizer Ashlee Marie Preston, an LGBTQ activist, said the rally was intended to more broadly highlight that jokes such as those made by Chappelle were directly harmful to the minority community.
We are here today not because we don't know how to take a joke. We're here because we're concerned that the jokes are taking lives. It's not a laughing matter, she said.
Companies including Netflix capitalize off of tension and use algorithmic science to manipulate and distort our perceptions of ourselves and one another, said Preston.
Demonstrators on Wednesday read out a list of asks, including for a content warning to be added to The Closer, and higher investment in LGBTQ talent both on screen and within the company.
- 'I screwed up' -
The row over The Closer has been going on for two weeks, as Chappelle's comedy special has ridden high in Netflix's list of most-watched titles.
While LGBTQ groups have cited studies linking on-screen stereotypes to real-world harm, Netflix content chief Ted Sarandos wrote in a leaked memo to staff last week that content on screen doesn't directly translate to real-world harm, and emphasized the importance of defending artistic freedom.
But the co-CEO gave interviews to multiple Hollywood trade publications Tuesday in which he admitted: I screwed up.
I should have first and foremost acknowledged in those emails that a group of our employees were in pain, and they were really feeling hurt from a business decision that we made, he told The Hollywood Reporter.
While agreeing that content on screen can have impact in the real world, positive and negative, Sarandos reiterated his belief that the Chappelle stand-up should not be taken down or have any disclaimer added.
This group of employees felt a little betrayed because we've created such a great place to work that they forgot that sometimes these challenges will come up, said Sarandos.
The majority of Netflix staff at the protest Wednesday did not speak to journalists, although McGrath said the leadership's response had been frustratingly slow.
- 'Pain and hurt' -
The walkout and rally have drawn support from film and television celebrities such as Jameela Jamil (The Good Place) and Jonathan Van Ness (Queer Eye), who recorded a video message expressing love and support for the movement.
David Huggard -- known to Ru Paul's Drag Race fans as Eureka O'Hara -- attended the rally to highlight the pain and the hurt that comes with living in this world as a non-binary individual.
If it's promoting hate, and it's promoting discrimination, you are directly a cause of it, said Huggard.
And that goes for anyone in this country, specifically people of power in the entertainment industry, they added.
Chappelle has been accused of mocking transgender people in the past, but remains hugely popular among his fans.
A small counter-protest gathered on Wednesday in support of Chappelle, with some carrying signs saying Jokes Are Funny.
It's America. We're having fun, a little bit of free speech, a little bit of comedy, right? That's what's important, said comedian Vito Gesualdi.