Kevin Baillie, the former vice president and head of creative at Eyeline Studios, part of Netflix, was dismissed from his £820,000-a-year job in April 2026 after revealing during a company retreat that he had taken medically prescribed ketamine for clinical depression.
Baillie is now suing Netflix for wrongful termination, alleging that the company investigated him and denied his severance pay after he disclosed the treatment during a "Vulnerability-Trust exercise" at an exclusive retreat in January 2026 at Sendero Ranch, a Netflix-owned property in Northern California.
Background of ketamine treatment
According to the lawsuit, Baillie sought the ketamine therapy under medical supervision at a clinic in Santa Barbara in October and November 2022, following the death of his mother. He had been suffering from clinical depression.
During the trust exercise, Baillie disclosed to colleagues that he had undergone the treatment. He claims he clarified why he had taken the drug, but Netflix launched an investigation. On March 18, 2026, a company investigator raised the incident "in a manner suggesting suspicion of recreational drug use," the lawsuit states.
Termination and severance dispute
Baillie was fired in April 2026. A company lawyer confirmed that "the ketamine therapy issue has factored into the termination," according to court documents. The lawsuit suggests he was denied up to a year of severance pay.
The investigation also covered alleged profanity and drinking. Baillie had been cautioned during his performance review to "drop one or two less f-bombs but don't stop entirely." At the same retreat, he performed a trick: drinking a Guinness while standing on his head, which he had learned from his former father-in-law. The lawsuit notes that a colleague immediately asked for a demonstration, "rather than withhold the openness that the session had encouraged."
