Netflix says it speaks truth to power after its CEO said "we’re not in the truth to power business"

Vox

Last week, CEO Reed Hastings defended Netflix's decision to pull Hasan Minhaj's Patriot Act from Saudi Arabia, saying: “We’re not in the truth to power business, we’re in the entertainment business." Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos was asked about those comments today in conversation with SNL's Chris Redd at the Paley Center in New York. "I think all entertainment is truth to power, all creative expression is truth to power … it was not a great choice of words, misspoken, whatever," Sarandos said. "I think what (Hastings) was getting at is that we’re not really in the breaking news business. I think standup comedy is certainly truth to power. A lot of great films which have changed the course of history, it’s all about truth to power … it (was) just a misuse of words. We’re just not in the breaking news business is what he means. Which we’re comfortable (with). It’s just not what we do. We don’t have reporters and editors, we’re not in that business of creating and being great at delivering the news. That’s just not what we do. We’re an entertainment company, primarily. That’s what I think he meant when he said that." Redd responded: "Hasan’s show is so brilliant. It’s definitely about the news." To which Sarandos said: "Yeah, about the news for sure. But it isn’t the news itself, it’s a digest of it. … It’s more like standup. You’re talking about something … and in that particular case, it was in Saudi Arabia, it ran afoul of the law, in that particular country. That was the context that he was talking about. That’s one of the challenges, as we are a more global company, different standards and different laws and different regulations, and you have to figure out how to navigate." That prompted Redd to say: "Man, you’re good at this thing."