Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos was launched into the middle of a congressional culture war on Tuesday as he testified before a Senate subcommittee about the companyโs attempt to buy a large part of Warner Bros Discovery.
The hearing before the Senate Judiciary antitrust subcommittee highlighted an array of traditional merger concerns on both sides of the aisle: that the deal could potentially raise costs for consumers, limit their theater experiences, or shrink the market for entertainment jobs. But a large chunk of the session also focused on Netflixโs allegedly โwokeโ programming, including content that features transgender characters.
Netflix is facing a competing bid from Paramount Skydance, run by CEO David Ellison, the son of President Donald Trumpโs close ally and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. WBD has rejected Paramountโs offer, but Republicans are pushing to knock Netflix out of the running.
โWhy in the world would we give a seal of approval or a thumbs up to make you the largest behemoth on the planet related to content?โ Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) asked. โIt seems as though you have engaged in creating not only a monopoly of content, potentially, but the wokest content in the history of the world.โ
After subcommittee Ranking Member Cory Booker (D-NJ) began his questioning following Schmitt by saying heโd get back to the topic of antitrust, Sen. Ashley Moody (R-FL) countered that the question of content was relevant to the topic at hand. โIf there are folks across America who are already struggling with their limited options,โ she said to the executives, โyouโre proposing you become even larger, and I am just saying maybe that shouldnโt have been a joke, โletโs get back to antitrust,โ letโs truly talk about whether there are going to be options.โ
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) made a hard pivot from his questioning on whether Netflix would commit to using union labor and pay residuals on streaming content to ask, โWhy is it that so much of Netflix content for children promotes a transgender ideology?โ Hawley alleged that โalmost halfโ of its content for minor children, excluding older teens, โpromotes a transgender ideology agenda.โ Sarandos said he didnโt know where that alleged number came from, and said that โNetflix has no political agenda of any kind.โ
The French film Cuties featured heavily at the hearing as an example of oversexualized kids content. The movie, which was created as a commentary on the sexualization of young girls and Sarandos said is rated for mature audiences, not kids, became a symbol of Netflixโs alleged ideologically-driven library. Billionaire and Trump backer Elon Musk previously led a campaign against Netflix over shows like Dead End: Paranormal Park and The Baby-Sitters Club for featuring trans characters. GOP lawmakers also pointed to Netflixโs staffโs primarily Democratic-leaning political donations and content featuring LGBTQ+ characters as other examples of its bias.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) asked Sarandos and WBD Chief Revenue and Strategy Officer Bruce Campbell if theyโd watched the Grammys this weekend (only Sarandos caught the โtail endโ). โAre we right now on stolen land?โ Cruz asked pointedly, referencing artist Billie Eilishโs speech opposing ICE, where she said, โno one is illegal on stolen land.โ Both said they didnโt know. (The Grammys were broadcast on CBS, which is owned by Paramount Skydance.)
Ellison declined an invitation to attend the hearing because he believed it wouldnโt be helpful given the circumstances, Booker said. But Ellison met with lawmakers privately, and Booker described his conversation with him as โfruitful.โ Paramountโs bid could raise some of the same concerns as Netflixโs, but Ellisonโs fatherโs close tie to President Donald Trump would potentially assuage some of the content concerns for Republicans, and raise them for Democrats.
Booker raised deep concerns about whether any transaction would be reviewed fairly by independent enforcers under the Trump administration. Sarandos admitted heโd met with Trump shortly before the deal was announced, but that the deal was not discussed in detail and was not the primary purpose of the conversation. โI do not trust this administration in their evaluations, and I just pray to God that everything that you all hope might come should this move forward, that you all attested to, comes to pass,โ Booker said.
