2 min read
Elon Musk’s recent attack on Netflix has reignited the intersection between culture, capital, and crypto. His public call for followers to cancel Netflix over gender-based themes in cartoons, and his own admission of canceling, sparked outrage online and coincided with a measurable market reaction. Within days, Netflix shares fell nearly 4%, erasing between $15 billion and $17 billion in market capitalization.
The saga began when Musk reposted a clip from Libs of TikTok, which criticized Dead End: Paranormal Park, a 2022 Netflix animated series featuring a transgender character.
Musk wrote, “This is not ok,” aligning with claims that the show, rated TV-Y7. Later, he doubled down, sharing memes urging users to “Cancel Netflix for the health of your kids” and amplifying posts accusing the company of “propaganda.”
He also reposted false claims suggesting Netflix had an “anti-white hiring process” and that all employee political donations went to Democrats. His criticism extended to shows such as The Baby-Sitters Club and Cocomelon, and to Netflix’s diversity reports, which he mocked as examples of “woke mind virus.”
Protect your kids.
Cancel Netflix. pic.twitter.com/DstKHfuqeq— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) October 1, 2025
Cancel Netflix https://t.co/K0ZLCbWHHo
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 1, 2025
Netflix has not responded to Musk’s tirades, though it has weathered similar storms before. In 2020, right-wing outrage over Cuties led to a short-lived cancellation wave, and in 2021, the company stood by comedian Dave Chappelle despite backlash over his transphobic jokes. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has repeatedly invoked freedom of speech in defending controversial content decisions.
Musk also estranged his daughter back in 2022, claiming “he lost a son” to woke culture. Speaking over comments on Meta’s Threads app, Vivian Wilson, the alienated daughter wrote:
“He doesn’t know what I was like as a child because he quite simply wasn’t there, and in the little time that he was I was relentlessly harassed for my femininity…”
As of October 2025, Elon Musk’s net worth is estimated at around $500 billion, making him the richest person in the world and the first individual in history to approach the half-trillion-dollar mark.
