News culture Massive unsubscribes from Netflix! Americans react strongly to a $7 million donation to a party for the US elections
After the revelation of a $7 million donation by Netflix’s co-director to a political party in the United States, the streaming platform suffered a spectacular decline in subscribers in the country.
A donation for the presidential election
It is the Bloomberg media that is telling us this. In July, Netflix recorded a cancellation rate of 2.8% in the US, “higher than any other month since February.”. However, this wave of unsubscribes is not as big as the one the platform experienced in 2020.
The SVOD company is gradually removing its ad-free Essential package from its catalog. A reason that is pushing some users to turn to other streaming services. But that’s not the only reason. Netflix co-founder and chairman Reed Hastings supported Kamala Harris on July 23 during an interview with media outlet The Information. He also revealed that he donated $7 million to the candidate in the November presidential election. For this reason, spectators with the red “N” slammed the platform door.
Social networks as a testimony
Congratulations to Kamala Harris – now it’s time to win
– Reed Hastings (@reedhastings) July 23, 2024
Reed Hastings announced his decision on his social networks, in particular through his X account (formerly Twitter). “Congratulations Kamala Harris, now it’s time to win” he wrote. But this news sparked a reaction from supporters of Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, who decided to call for a boycott. The hashtag “#CancelNetflix“ was launched by supporters of the ex-president. Still, this isn’t the first time Hastings has shown his support for the Democratic Party. According to an email obtained by The New York Times, he would like to “Biden is stepping down to allow a strong Democratic leader to defeat Trump and ensure our security and prosperity“.
The president of Netflix is far from the only figure using social media to show his support for Kamala Harris. On September 11th The famous singer Taylor Swift called on young people to vote through her Instagram account, which was followed by 280 million people and claimed that she “I would vote for Kamala Harris because she fights for rights and causes that I believe need to be defended“. Matt Damon and Lin-Manuel Miranda also attended a fundraiser in support of the Republican duo. On the Democratic side, Donald Trump can count on the support of Brittany Mahomes, the wife of the great NFL player Patrick Mahomes, and Hulk Hogan, the former professional wrestler.
