Elon Musk, a self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist,” has launched an effort urging his 227 million followers on X — the social media platform he controls — to cancel Netflix.
In the past three days, the conservative-leaning billionaire has posted and reposted calls to cancel Netflix, as well as attacks on the company, at least 26 times. Musk, the world’s richest person with a net worth of around $500 billion, said he has canceled his Netflix service. And he’s telling everyone else who will listen to do so as well.
“Cancel Netflix for the health of your kids,” Musk wrote on Oct. 1, quoting another user’s meme depicting Netflix’s “transgender woke agenda” as a Trojan horse entering a fortress labeled “your kids.”
Musk’s anti-Netflix effort kicked off on Tuesday. Musk posted “This is not ok” in quoting the right-wing activist account Libs of TikTok’s surfacing of a clip of Netflix’s “Dead End: Paranormal Park” in which the protagonist says he is transgender. “Dead End Paranormal Park, a show on Netflix, is pushing pro-transgender on CHILDREN. This show is advertised for 7-YEAR-OLDS,” Libs of TikTok said, referring to Netflix’s TV-Y7 rating, meaning the show is suitable for viewers aged 7 or older. (Netflix canceled “Dead End: Paranormal Park” after two seasons and it is not currently promoting the show.)
Since then, Musk has reposted comments calling out pro-trans themes in other kids’ shows on Netflix, including “CoComelon” and “The Baby-Sitters Club.” He also has supported claims of an alleged anti-white hiring bias by Netflix, and criticized Democratic Party donations by company execs.
Netflix has declined to comment on Musk’s campaign. Because Netflix no longer reports subscriber numbers on a quarterly basis, the impact of the Musk-led boycott may be difficult to quantify.
On Thursday, Musk wrote “True” in quoting a user who commented, “Transgender propaganda isn’t just quietly lurking in the background on Netflix. They are actively pushing it on users” and linking to a March 2025 article on Netflix’s Tudum titled “Celebrate Trans Day of Visibility with These 16 Movies and Shows.”
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Musk also commented “💯” in reply to conservative podcaster Benny Johnson’s post saying, “The real reason the Netflix cancellation campaign has gone so viral: Netflix is sexualizing children by packaging explicit, graphic, radical sex topics as ‘children’s entertainment’ / What Netflix is doing goes beyond a culture war fight. It’s immoral. / And It should be illegal….”
On Wednesday, Musk reposted a user’s “Demonic” response to Ian Miles Cheong’s post saying, “A Netflix show, CoComelon, features interracial gay dads attempting to raise a baby as transgender who make the toddler dance for them in drag. This is the woke version of Bacha Bazi.”
Musk also reposted a claim by Libs of TikTok that 100% of political donations by Netflix employees in 2024 went to Democrats. And he commented “Cancel Netflix” in reply to the account’s post about Netflix’s 2023 report on diversity and inclusion asserting, “@netflix appears to openly boasts about discriminating against White people. In their inclusion & diversity report, they celebrate that the percentage of racially underrepresented directors and lead characters has been growing significantly over the past few years. Why doesn’t netflix hire based on qualifications instead of skin color??”
Musk has a transgender child, daughter Vivian Wilson, who in 2022 changed her name and gender. In an interview last year, Musk said, “I lost my son, essentially,” and said he had been “tricked” into approving gender-affirming care for Vivian. According to Musk, she was “dead, killed by the woke mind virus.”
Supporters of Musk’s anti-Netflix drive include conservative actor and comedian Rob Schneider, who wrote in a post on X, “Dear @ElonMusk / Thank you for standing up against the evil Trans indoctrination programming of our children on Netflix and Disney,” adding, “God bless you, Sir!”
But not everyone is cheering on Musk. “This guy went from calling himself a ‘free speech absolutist’ to the most reactionary, whiney little cancel culture loving bitch on the internet,” Tommy Vietor, co-founder of progressive media Crooked Media and co-host of “Pod Save America,” wrote Wednesday on X.
Netflix has been the target of a boycott by conservatives before. In 2020, a backlash over Netflix film “Cuties,” which showed underage actresses performing highly sexualized dance routines and depicted them in other adult situations, led to a huge spike in U.S. customer cancellations but the trend died out after a few days. (“Cuties” is no longer available on Netflix, after the company’s licensing agreement for the title expired last year.)
Separately, ABC’s temporary suspension of Jimmy Kimmel last month, over his comments about MAGA supporters trying to score political points from Charlie Kirk’s murder, sparked numerous users of Disney+ and Hulu to cancel (or vow to cancel) their streaming subscriptions. Disney reinstated Kimmel’s show as of Sept. 23.
Netflix, in its famous Culture Memo, says in the section titled “Artistic Expression”: “Representation matters. Our members come from many different backgrounds and cultures, and they want to see a wide variety of stories and people on screen. This diversity is wonderful and it can create real tension since we all have such different views about what’s acceptable — and what’s harmful — on TV.” It goes on to say that “we support the artistic expression of the creators we choose to work with” and that, “As employees, we support these principles, even if some stories run counter to our personal values. And we understand that, depending on our roles, we may need to work on TV shows, films or games we perceive to be harmful. If you’d find it hard to support the breadth of our slate, Netflix is probably not the best place for you.”
In 2021, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos defended comedian Dave Chappelle after Chappelle was slammed for his anti-trans comments in Netflix stand-up special “The Closer,” a controversy that included a walkout by the company’s own employees. Sarandos also has defended Netflix’s decision to order three specials from Tony Hinchcliffe, the comedian whose poorly received joke about Puerto Ricans at a Trump rally last year ignited a media firestorm.
But in the escalating “cancel Netflix” campaign launched by Musk, the company and its execs have so far stayed silent.
From Variety US