Did Netflix’s Reed Hastings Just Make a Fatal Mistake With Political Donation?
By Movieguide® Contributor
Netflix is facing calls for a boycott after the streamer’s co-founder, Reed Hastings, donated $7 million to a SuperPAC supporting Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign.
“After the depressing debate, we are in the game again,” Hastings told The Information last week while discussing his large donation.
Hastings was among the many Hollywood Democrats who called for Biden to rescind his bid for reelection after an abysmal debate against Donald Trump at the end of June. After weeks of trying to reinvigorate his party’s support, Biden officially declared he would not seek reelection in the middle of July, opening the door for his vice president, Kamala Harris, to step in as the presumptive nominee.
“Biden needs to step aside to allow a vigorous Democratic leader to beat trump and keep us safe and prosperous,” Hastings told The New York Times earlier this month, echoing the view of a majority of Hollywood donators.
Through the support of people like Hastings, Harris has received over $200 million in the week since she took over as the Democrat frontrunner for this year’s election.
Netflix, however, is facing criticism for this show of support from its co-founder, with many Republicans calling for a boycott of the streaming platform to show their disapproval of Hastings’s donation.
“For real, cancel Netflix. This is the last time for me. I will never pay for them again,” one user wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “There are too many free apps that have the same [content] to watch.”
“Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings donated $7 million to Kamala Harris. There are plenty of other streaming options available. You know what to do patriots,” another user wrote on X. “Hope Hastings enjoys his backing of VP Harris. Make him feel it.”
While Hastings stepped down from his role as CEO of the streamer in 2023, he remains heavily involved in the company as the executive chairman. His net worth is currently estimated at $6.21 billion, per Bloomberg, with much of that wealth tied up in Netflix stock.
Movieguide® previously reported on Hastings:
Netflix founder Reed Hastings has announced that he will step away from his role as CEO of the major streaming platform.
Hastings will remain chairman of Netflix, while co-CEO Ted Sarandos will stay on in his current position. Greg Peters, who served as COO, will step into Hastings’ role as co-CEO.
“I want to thank Reed for his visionary leadership, mentorship and friendship over the last 20 years,” Sarandos said in a statement about Hastings’ departure. “We’ve all learned so much from his intellectual rigor, honesty and willingness to take big bets — and we look forward to working with him for many more years to come.”
Hastings tweeted that he plans to stay on as chairman “for many years to come.”
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