Netflix witnessed an elevated number of cancellations after executive chairman and cofounder Reed Hastings announced that he would support Vice President Kamala Harris.
Hastings commended the Democratic nominee on social media in late July and said that now is her “time to win,” as well as revealed in an interview with The Information that he would donate $7 million in support of the candidate. The announcement prompted cancellations to triple in the United States as some 2.8% of customers nixed their subscriptions, according to a report from Bloomberg, rendering the month of July one of the worst for the streaming service this year.
The outlet meanwhile noted that July 26, which came three days after the donation was revealed to the public, was the single worst day of the year for Netflix subscription cancellations.
Thousands of social media users who support former President Donald Trump shared pictures of their Netflix account cancellation confirmations or otherwise voiced their displeasure with the company, which typically has the lowest level of customer churn in the streaming industry.
The report from Bloomberg noted that Netflix has witnessed similar declines in subscriptions driven by backlash from conservatives, such as when Netflix added the movie Cuties to their platform despite the film containing sexually suggestive scenes centered on young girls.
Many companies have made leftist political statements or signaled toward the diversity, equity, and inclusion movement in recent years, yet those efforts have increasingly prompted backlash from conservative consumers or online pressure campaigns from conservative activists, resulting in an overall decline of social justice activities from some major companies.