On September 10, 2026 — exactly one year after Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was assassinated at Utah Valley University — Netflix posted content making a "neck injury" joke. The post went up on the anniversary. The backlash was immediate.
Subscribers didn't write letters. They canceled.
The joke, which referenced the manner of Kirk's killing, set off a firestorm across social media. Conservative commentator Jack Posobiec — a close friend of Kirk's — responded with two words: "Cancel Netflix completely." Thousands appeared to take the advice literally.
Actor Kevin Sorbo posted his own response, as reported by Breitbart News: "I'm so glad I canceled my subscription. You guys are sick. Years ago Netflix brought me in to discuss doing Faith based films. At the end of our meeting, the executives looked at me and said 'we understand that there's an audience for the kind of movies you make, we just don't know why.' These people are sick."
That quote tells you everything about the corporate culture making these decisions. They know the audience exists. They just can't comprehend it. And when a young conservative leader is murdered, their content team sees material.
Graham Allen was more direct about the financial consequences: "The worst people! No wonder NETFLIX stock has TUMBLED!" Mike Cernovich went further: "This is the mainstream Democrat view. They are murderous." The Libs of TikTok account added: "I'm so glad I canceled my subscription. You guys are sick."
Netflix, for its part, issued a statement to US Weekly claiming the post "directly references a plot point from our UK series, The Gentlemen, which launched its second season on September 3." The spokesperson added that "suggestions that it has any link to sensitive real world events are inaccurate and ludicrous."
Ludicrous. A neck injury joke on the one-year anniversary of a man who was shot and killed. Posted to an American audience that watched it happen in real time. And the defense is that it was about a British crime drama that premiered a week earlier. The content team either knew exactly what they were doing or operates with a level of obliviousness that should concern shareholders either way.
Meanwhile, at the UCCU Center near the site of Kirk's assassination, a memorial event was scheduled for 6:30 p.m. MST — a gathering to honor the man Netflix's social media team apparently thought was fair game for comedy.
A company that understood its subscribers wouldn't need to explain why a neck injury joke on an assassination anniversary landed badly. A company that understood the country wouldn't post it in the first place.
Netflix chose the joke. The market is choosing the cancel button.