Despite continued controversy over some of the comedy specials offered by Netflix, there won’t be any censorship happening at the streaming service. Last year, Dave Chappelle had conjured up some backlash with the release of his latest Netflix special, The Closer, which included controversial jokes about the LGBTQ+ community. There had been calls for the special to be removed, but the streamer stood by Chappelle.

More recently, Ricky Gervais released a new Netflix special, dubbed SuperNature, which also included what critics say are anti-trans jokes. This similarly had viewers getting upset with many voicing complaints on social media, and an official statement from GLAAD also condemned Netflix and Gervais. The statement noted that Netflix violates its own policy by featuring content that is “designed to incite hate or violence.”

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While it’s never a good thing to have criticism leveled against one’s company, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos isn’t too concerned about the controversy created by these specials. Sarandos spoke more about the situation in a new interview with the New York Times, suggesting that comedians sometimes have to cross the line “every once in a while” to see what is acceptable. He also explained that the streamer offers a variety of content with the goal of having something to offer for everyone, and this means that there will sometimes be content featured that some viewers won’t be happy with.

Standing By Comedians Puts Principles to the Test

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Companies seem to typically shy away from celebrities whenever there’s controversy attached, but Sarandos says the situation with Dave Chappelle was a good opportunity for them to put their principles to the test. While they could see the complaints, they also recognized that Chappelle is the most popular comedian they have on their service and certainly among the most popular of any modern comics. So it wasn’t too hard to stick with Chappelle.

When asked about Gervais, Sarandos noted that the same point of view also applies to the British comedian. It was recently reported that a memo sent to Netflix staffers suggesting that the company may “not be the best place” to work for any offended employees. That news had conjured up a lot of praise from conservatives, which Sarandos said surprised him. In any case, what’s important for Sarandos is that Netflix continues to hold back on censorship of its content.