Surge In Netflix Cancelations Following Kamala Donations Serve As Cautionary Tale For U.S. Businesses

Michael Jordan was onto something when he famously coined the phrase, "Republicans buy sneakers, too."

According to Bloomberg, Netflix cancelations in the U.S. nearly tripled in July after chairman Reed Hastings endorsed Kamala Harris and donated $7 million to a pro-Harris super PAC.

After Hastings confirmed the donation the hashtag #CancelNetflix started to trend as X users posted photos showing they had canceled their Netflix accounts. On July 26, three days after the donation became public, Netflix suffered its worst day of cancelations this year.

A total of 2.8% of subscribers canceled their subscriptions in July. Netflix suffered a similar cancelation rate in February, but that was mostly because of the company phasing out its "basic tier," its lowest-priced ad-free option.

"The long-term effect of these incidents can be hard to gauge," explained the report. "Advertisers and companies were eager to speak out on social issues following the murder of George Floyd. Many companies raced to show their support for the Black community and started new programs or initiatives to promote diversity, equity and inclusion (or DEI). Netflix shifted cash to black-owned banks while Hastings donated to historically black universities."

Still, the response to Hastings' endorsement ought to serve as a cautionary tale for other businesses. 

Political statements are an inherent risk for U.S. corporations, be it financial, verbal, or tangible. Conservative Americans have long separated their feelings toward a particular brand's politics from the brand itself. But that changed in 2023. 

Conservative Americans finally pushed back. And, oh, did the power dynamic swing.

14 May 2024, North Rhine-Westphalia, Cologne: The word "Netflix" shines brightly at the presentation of the new season (3) of the Netflix series "Bridgerton" in the Flora. Photo: Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa (Photo by Rolf Vennenbernd/picture alliance via Getty Images)

By now, you've heard about Bud Light. Last year, the beer company celebrated trans "influencer" Dylan Mulvaney's "365 Days of Girlhood" with a special can. Consumers of the beer brand were not as impressed with Mulvaney's efforts. 

Sales declined so much that the partnership cost Bud Light's parent company, AB InBev, $27 billion in market value. Bud Light lost its standing as the top-selling beer in the U.S. for the first time in 22 years, and two bottling plants closed as a result.

But Bud Light was not the only company to be Bud Light'ed, if you will

In 2023, seven of Disney’s eight major theatrical releases significantly underperformed in the U.S. to the tune of over $400 million in losses. The company blamed the losses on a "misalignment" with consumer preferences during an annual SEC report in November. 

That is Disney’s way of admitting that children's films that include same-sex kissing, non-binary persons, and gender ideology do not align with its consumers.

An Axios Harris study also attributed the declines to Disney’s left-wing political messaging, finding that Americans now consider the brand the fifth most polarizing in the country.

Target, Starbucks, Modern, the NBA, late-night television, etc. all received the same message: conservative Americans are done funding brands that despise them. 

Finally.

Reed Hastings and other CEOs are free to endorse and donate to any candidate they choose. And their consumers are free to respond by taking their business elsewhere.

Let that serve as an all-important reminder: You, the consumer, still control the marketplace.

Netflix is the most successful streaming platform in the country because people like you subscribe, month after month. Without you, Reed Hastings would not have $7 million of pocket change to give the Kamala Harris campaign.

We are not telling you to boycott Netflix. We are reminding you that you are not powerless. 

Bud Light has spent over a year trying to make amends with its former customers. Bud Light now understands what Michael Jordan warned of in the 90s.

Apparently, Hastings didn't get the message.