In a weird twist of events, it just found its way right to the middle of a hot political debate, which ultimately saw it lose lots of users. This was in reaction to a donation that Reed Hastings, co-founder and former CEO of Netflix, made a while ago to Vice President Kamala Harris.
The financial contribution has fueled an uproar of outrage on social media sites, including subscriber sites taking to the sites to voice their discontent by canceling their Netflix memberships. That anger is part of a growing trend of consumers punishing companies, and rewarding others, based on the political activities of corporate leaders that is hitting corporate bottom lines.
Some critics believe the decision is inappropriate for a chief executive in light of the now prevalent opinion that corporate leaders should not take political sides, certainly not in today's polarized environment. Supporters for their part came to Hastings's defense, saying he has every right to make personal political contributions without impeding business interests at Netflix.
This is the last thing Netflix needed, considering how the company was really on its toes with competition from Disney Plus, Amazon Prime, and HBO Max contending for its neck. This is just what it didn't need-to antagonize its subscribers.
Financial markets have weighed in on the controversy as well. Netflix's stock took a hit in light of the outrage, showcasing the swift financial consequences that can occur when business leaders take controversial positions on social or political issues.
It also speaks to another issue: the complicated relationship between corporate leadership and consumer opinion. Whereas in the past, corporate political donations were either entirely blind to consumers or completely inconsequential to them, today they can spark PR disasters of great magnitude.
It will be interesting to see how Netflix eventually addresses this tide of "cancel culture" against businesses whose executives engage in political activism. The service may need to shift PR efforts to stem the fallout longer term, both culturally and economically.
#Netflix #ReedHastings #KamalaHarris #PoliticalDonations #CancelCulture #StreamingWars #CorporateResponsibility #ConsumerBacklash
Author: John Miller
