Streaming giant Netflix saw its shares drop 2.4% this week, or the equivalent of more than $15 billion in only a few days, following the call for a boycott of the company from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Forbes reported on Thursday.
Musk, billionaire and former White House adviser, urged his 227 million followers on X to cancel their Netflix subscriptions “for the health of your kids” and slammed a cartoon he claimed promoted a pro-transgender agenda to children. Musk was referring to “Dead End: Paranormal Park,” an animated series featuring a gay, transgender teenage boy and a bisexual girl with autism.
The hashtag #CancelNetflix soon went viral.
The conservative Libs of TikTok shared a post of the show, which was then amplified by Musk.
Although the show was canceled after two seasons following its 2022 debut, it was thrust back into the spotlight after the series creator, Hamish Steele, was said to have mocked the death of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk, an allegation the writer denies.
The program remains available to viewers as young as seven.
“Meet Hamish Steele, creator of a kid’s show on @netflix which teaches kids they can be transgender. After Charlie was ass*ssinated, he called Charlie a nazi and had a meltdown because people were mourning him. Netflix is SILENT. Their silence is deafening. CANCEL NETFLIX,” Libs of TikTok posted on Wednesday.
Musk’s boycott calls thus far have made a small dent in an otherwise strong year for Netflix’s stock and revenues. Shares are up 30% since January, when they traded around $886. In its July earnings report, the company posted a 16% year-over-year revenue increase to $11 billion, while net profit jumped 46% to $3.1 billion.
Netflix also raised subscription prices by at least $1 across all plans at the start of the year.