Netflix Tweeted a Shocking Video, and Many Followers Aren’t Happy
Netflix, a company which has nearly 2.5 million followers on Twitter alone, is receiving major backlash after they tweeted a video that showed a woman’s suicide. Netflix was attempting to promote their new show The OA, an eight-episode thriller that tells the story of a missing blind woman who mysteriously returns home with her sight restored after being gone for seven years.
The tweets began with some cryptic messages…
Have you seen death?
— Netflix US (@netflix) December 12, 2016
Have you seen darkness?
— Netflix US (@netflix) December 12, 2016
Have you seen the light?
— Netflix US (@netflix) December 12, 2016
Creepy? Yes. Offensive? Not yet. However, things started getting intense when Netflix tweeted a short clip of a woman running on a road, dodging traffic and heading towards the edge of a bridge. Chilling…
— Netflix US (@netflix) December 12, 2016
But then they tweeted the same scene with an additional few seconds added (TRIGGER WARNING!)…
— Netflix US (@netflix) December 12, 2016
W… T… F. So horribly disturbing and not something you want to come across unexpectedly on social media.
Folks are seriously upset (we had to leave out a bunch of tweets that rightfully called the choice “f*@#ed up”)…
Please be warned @netflix is posting videos of a woman committing suicide.
— mike wazowski (@urfavdad) December 12, 2016
@netflix Do we need to give you the number for the National Suicide Hotline??
— Ivy (the Great) Vine (@voodoogirl47) December 12, 2016
@netflix Not cool guys, not cool. People have (myself included) dealt with suicide in their lives. No need for the reminder.
— Sarah Louise (@SarahLouise21) December 12, 2016
Uhh, @netflix, probably not the best idea to tweet gifs of suicide (even if it is to promote a TV show) to your followers with no warning…
— olivia (@ginaolivia) December 12, 2016
Whoa. @Netflix advertising a show with a video of someone committing suicide? What the fudge?! #Triggered pic.twitter.com/w3Dsi4G454
— SMP #TeamInstinct (@SMPGaming) December 12, 2016
.@chef_bo_yardee @netflix I'm expressing my disappointment that a company with 2 million followers would show a suicide without warning.
— TJ Smith (@ivyleaguepunk) December 12, 2016
@chef_bo_yardee @netflix you don't seem to have compassion for suicide survivors. Have you ever lost someone to suicide?
— TJ Smith (@ivyleaguepunk) December 12, 2016
@chef_bo_yardee perhaps they follow Netflix because they like their comedies. Perhaps they're a child. Perhaps they're struggling w suicide.
— TJ Smith (@ivyleaguepunk) December 12, 2016
@chef_bo_yardee there's a lot of reasons why a suicide might not be appropriate for a company like Netflix to be tweeting out.
— TJ Smith (@ivyleaguepunk) December 12, 2016
We’ll surely be seeing an apology from Netflix soon enough, but the fact that this happened in the first place is totally mind-boggling.
For those who may have been trigged and are looking for help, please check out the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
What do you think about Netflix’s choice to share this clip (without warning) over social media? Tweet us @BritandCo!
(Photo via Netflix)
