Elon Musk has urged his followers to cancel their Netflix subscriptions, accusing the streaming service of promoting “transgender propaganda.” The tech billionaire’s comments, shared with his 227 million followers, coincided with a 2.2% drop in Netflix shares, as reported by Forbes.
The controversy began when Hamish Steele, creator of the Netflix show Dead End: Paranormal Park, commented on a post by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer about the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Steele allegedly asked why Starmer was commenting on the death of a “random Nazi.” A screenshot of the tweet was shared by an account that had previously accused Steele of “pushing pro-transgender on children,” referencing a scene where a character comes out as transgender.
Musk later told followers to “cancel Netflix for the health of your kids.” Steele responded on Bluesky, calling the claims “lies and slander” and noting that he had begun receiving “extremely nasty” homophobic and antisemitic emails. He denied ever celebrating Kirk’s death.
Musk has previously expressed views described as transphobic. In September 2025, he said that “the major driver of white males becoming trans is the relentless propaganda portraying white men as the worst human beings.” He also claimed he was “tricked” into supporting gender-affirming care for his daughter Vivian Wilson, who is a trans woman. Wilson has called her father’s characterisation of her childhood “entirely fake” and stated she is financially independent.
Musk, the world’s richest man with an estimated net worth of $500 billion, bought Twitter in 2022 and renamed it X. He later became associated with Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and headed the Department of Government Efficiency before a schism led to his departure. The Independent has approached Netflix and X-Corp for comment.
