SPPORTING STATEMENT: The economic and cultural phenomenon dubbed ‘get woke, go broke’ has damaged the profitability, integrity and general good-name of once classic American brands like Disney, Target and Bud Light. Similarly, companies like Starbucks and Walgreens have been forced to close down numerous branches exclusively in areas that have implemented the very hard-left policy recommendations that those companies have openly and extensively recommended.

Netflix has also subjected itself to such financial pushback.

In July 2022, after two full years of incessantly, and increasingly, taking public political stances (in a near exclusively hard-left manner) on a number of hotbed issues such as Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI), Covid-19, climate change and LGBTQ+ – a politicization that also very noticeably found its way into Netflix’s content – the Company lost nearly 1 million subscribers in a single quarter, which was the single largest drop in company history.5

By comparison, from the end of 2022 to 2023 to date – a year in which Netflix seemed to have partially learned from its past mistakes by shelving some woke content – both subscribers and the stock price have subsequently increased significantly.6

After Netflix’s worst quarter to date in July, 2022, the Company very publicly canceled ultra- woke disasters including Ibram X. Kendi’s Antiracist Baby, a show about supposed male pregnancy called He’s Expecting, and Meghan Markle’s Pearl.7 Additionally, Netflix also publicly stood by its decision to air a controversial new Dave Chapelle special.8 And since July 2022, and in light of this noticeable political shift, Netflix subscriptions have risen by 27 million9 and the stock price has risen over 48 percent in the past year as of December 6, 2023.10

The data couldn’t be more clear: Netflix subscribers simply don’t want to be preached on politics – especially in a radically one-sided fashion – they just want to watch good content.

The business dangers of viewpoint conformity are clear. Company bottom-lines, and thus shareholder value, decrease when ideological lockstep makes the risks of hyper-partisan behavior invisible. Bud Light revenue fell $395 million in North America in a year because it took a hard partisan position on hot-button political and social issues.11 Target’s market cap fell over $15 billion for parallel reasons.12 And Disney stock fell 44 percent in 2022 – its worst performance in nearly 50 years – amid its decision to pursue extreme partisan agendas