Comedian and podcaster Marc Maron ripped into Netflix<\/a> for its refusal to stand with the trans community, arguing that the streaming platform\u2019s decision to air Dave Chappelle\u2019s comedy specials shows \u201chow fascism works in business.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cFascism is good for business,\u201d Maron said<\/a> on Sunday\u2019s episode of \u201cPod Save America.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cLike Netflix,\u201d he continued. \u201cNetflix will just co-opt anybody that can take that algorithm. I used to do a joke about it. Netflix can become \u2018Reichflix\u2019 very quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Maron said the \u201cpivotal moment\u201d was when the trans community and allies criticized Netflix for airing comedian Dave Chappelle\u2019s 2021 special in which Chappelle made transphobic jokes. Netflix employees organized a walkout<\/a> to demand the special be taken off the streaming service, but ultimately, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos refused to remove the program.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Maron said Netflix realized the trans community wasn\u2019t going to affect its bottom line. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThat is how fascism works in business,\u201d Maron said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Netflix did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Shortly after the controversy in 2021, Sarandos said that Netflix<\/a> tries to \u201csupport creative freedom and artistic expression\u201d and that he would classify hate speech as \u201csomething that would intentionally call for physically harming other people or even remove protections.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Maron acknowledged that Netflix has a robust catalog with some LGBTQ+ shows and movies, but argued that those shows and movies don\u2019t get the \u201cbig deals\u201d or get renewed. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n He added that today\u2019s talented comics are operating \u201cin the shadow\u201d of what he called \u201ctribalized comedy,\u201d calling out Joe Rogan specifically as \u201cthe arbiter of what comedy is.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n But if \u201cwoke is dead,\u201d Maron continued, then anti-woke comics can\u2019t \u201cclaim the victim mantle\u201d anymore.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWhat do you have to keep beating these people up for?\u201d he asked. \u201cSome of them are losing their rights. Some of them are being literally killed. Some of them are being deported, and these are all the big funnies for you guys who claim to be victims of this horrible policy. So then, why not stop now?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Maron has been critical of comedians<\/a> who had President Donald Trump<\/a> on their podcasts during the lead-up to the 2024 election. In Maron\u2019s 2025 HBO special, he joked that if Adolf Hitler<\/a> were alive today, the Nazi dictator would probably appear on comedian Theo Von\u2019s podcast. Maron then dove into an impression of Von. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Maron said on \u201cPod Save America\u201d that he had to think about that joke before including it because there\u2019s a stigma around being critical of another comedian. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThe impression was good enough,\u201d Maron said. \u201cThe jokes I put [in with] him talking were funny. I\u2019d be hard-pressed to think that he didn\u2019t think it was funny.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n 20 Years Of<\/span>Free<\/span>Journalism<\/span><\/p>\n Your Support Fuels Our Mission<\/p>\n Your Support Fuels Our Mission<\/p>\n![\"Marc](\"https:\/\/img.huffingtonpost.com\/asset\/68acd6e317000074ad63f130.png?ops=scalefit_720_noupscale&format=webp)
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