Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he cancelled his Netflix account because of the controversy involving Netflix director Hamish Steele and his comments on the death of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
Musk confirmed his cancellation on Wednesday after replying to a social media post that slammed Netflix for hiring Steele, who made the show Dead End: Paranormal Park on Netflix.
The Controversy: Director Makes Fun of Death
Last month, Hamish Steele, an animation director for Netflix in London, got a lot of hate for posting a post on Bluesky that made fun of Charlie Kirk’s death. In the message that is currently going around, Steele called Kirk a “nazi.”
On September 10th, Charlie Kirk, a well-known right-wing political activist, was shot and killed in public. Thousands of people came to his burial, including Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump.
Musk Joins the Protest
Matt Van Swol, a former nuclear scientist at the Department of Energy, posted on Twitter that Netflix was promoting “pro-trans content” and that he was canceling his own subscription. This prompted Musk to make his choice.
“Just cancelled my Netflix subscription,” Van Swol wrote. You will NEVER get a dime of my money if you hire someone who celebrates Charlie Kirk’s death and makes videos that pushes pro-trans content on my kids.
Musk just said “Same,” which meant that he had done the same thing for the same reasons.
Steele is facing accusations and backlash.
After a clip from Hamish Steele’s animated kids’ program, Dead End: Paranormal Park, started going around on the Musk-owned social media site X, people started to get angry with him. Some people said the show pushed an anti-transphobic mindset. As the video got more attention, screenshots of Steele’s prior, contentious post also spread quickly online.
Musk not only cancelled his subscription in protest, but he also called Steele a “groomer” in public. This is in line with what the millionaire who owns Tesla has said in the past, which makes it seem like he doesn’t support transgender rights and care. Musk has said that this position is related to the transition of his own daughter, who he says was affected by what he calls a “woke mind virus.”