Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos was dropped amid a culture war in Congress on Tuesday as he testified before a Senate subcommittee about the company’s attempt to buy a large chunk of Warner Bros. Discovery.
The hearing before the Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee highlighted a number of traditional concerns about mergers on both sides of the aisle: that the deal could potentially raise costs for consumers, limit their theater experiences or shrink the entertainment job market. But much of the show also focused on Netflix’s supposedly “woke” programming, including content that features transgender characters.
Netflix is facing a rival bid from Paramount Skydance, run by CEO David Ellison, the son of a close ally of President Donald Trump and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. WBD rejected Paramount’s offer, but Republicans are pushing to drop Netflix from the fray.
“Why in the world should we give a seal of approval or a thumbs up to make you the biggest monster on the planet when it comes to content?” asked Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO). “It appears that you have engaged in the creation of not only a content monopoly, but potentially the most awakened content in the history of the world.”
After subcommittee ranking member Cory Booker (D-NJ) began his questioning of Schmitt by saying he would return to the topic of antitrust, Sen. Ashley Moody (R-FL) countered that the question of content was relevant to the topic. “If there are people in America who are already struggling with their limited options,” she told executives, “you’re proposing to get even bigger, and I’m just saying that maybe it shouldn’t have been a joke, ‘let’s go back to antitrust,’ let’s really talk about whether there are going to be options.”
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) asked, “Why does so much of Netflix’s children’s content promote transgender ideology?”, asking whether Netflix would commit to using union labor and paying residuals for streaming content. Hawley claimed that “almost half” of content for minors, excluding older teens, “promotes the agenda of transgender ideology”. Sarandos said he didn’t know where the alleged number came from and said “Netflix has no political agenda of any kind.”
French movie Pretty came forward strongly at the hearing as an example of over-sexualised content for children. The film, which was created as a commentary on the sexualization of young girls and which Sarandos said was rated for adult audiences, not children, has become a symbol of Netflix’s allegedly ideologically driven library. Billionaire and Trump supporter Elon Musk previously campaigned against Netflix over similar shows Dead End: Paranormal Park and Babysitting club for introducing trans characters. GOP lawmakers also pointed to Netflix employees’ political donations aimed primarily at Democrats 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 they watched the Grammy Awards this weekend (only Sarandos caught “the end”). “Are we on stolen land right now?” Cruz asked pointedly, referring to artist Billie Eilish’s speech against ICE, where she said, “There’s nobody illegal on stolen land. They both said they didn’t know. (The Grammys aired on CBS, which is owned by Paramount Skydance.)
Ellison declined an invitation to attend the hearing because he believed it would not be helpful under the circumstances, Booker said. But Ellison met with the lawmakers privately, and Booker described his conversation with him as “fruitful.” Paramount’s bid could raise some of the same concerns as Netflix’s bid, but Ellison’s father’s close ties to President Donald Trump would potentially dampen some content concerns among Republicans and raise them among Democrats.
Booker expressed deep concern about whether any transaction would be fairly reviewed by independent law enforcement agencies under the Trump administration. Sarandos admitted that he 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. “I don’t trust this administration in their assessment, and I just pray to God that everything that you all hope for can come if this step forward that you all have witnessed comes to pass,” Booker said.