Terra Field, a trans engineer at Netflix who was suspended and then reinstated by the streamer in October amid outcry around Dave Chappelle’s special, has resigned.
Field made the announcement on Twitter on Monday of having resigned the day before, and was “not happy that this is how things turned out, but I do think this outcome is the best for all parties involved.” Field also posted a link to a post titled “My Resignation from Netflix,” writing, “This isn’t how I thought things would end, but I am relieved to have closure.”
In the post, Field said the decision comes after the firing of B. Pagels-Minor, the former Netflix staffer who was let go in October for allegedly leaking confidential information on the Chappelle special. (Pagels-Minor has denied leaking sensitive information.)
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“Shortly after B. was fired for something I did not and do not believe they did, I made a decision: sink or swim, I was going to walk side by side with B. as they had for so many of us while they led the Trans* ERG,” Field said, referencing Netflix’s trans employee resource group. Now that Pagels-Minor, who was also pregnant at the time of firing, has had their son, “that is the note that I’d like this chapter of my life to end on. I want to focus on the joy, not the heartache,” said Field, with plans to rest and recover. Field also thanked her team at Netflix for their support and for the Trans*ERG group being like “family.”
“We have resolved our differences in a way that acknowledges the erosion of trust on both sides and, we hope, enables everyone to move on,” a Netflix spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter following news of the resignation.
Field was one of three Netflix employees suspended on Oct. 11 after attending a meeting that was meant only for senior executives at the company amid the criticism around Chappelle’s special The Closer. In the controversial stand-up show, Chappelle mocked the concept of gender identity and identified himself as “team TERF,” a reference to trans-exclusionary radical feminists. After debuting on the streaming platform, the special drew sharp criticism from GLAAD, showrunners like Dear White People‘s Jaclyn Moore, and many others, including Field, as co-CEO Ted Sarandos acknowledged mishandling communication but stuck by plans to leave Chappelle’s special untouched.
Field joined the meeting after speaking out on Twitter about the comic’s anti-trans comments. A day later, Field was reinstated as backlash continued to grow, culminating in a staff walkout and protest rally outside of the streamer’s Los Angeles offices on Oct. 20.
I resigned from Netflix yesterday, you can read my resignation letter below. I'm not happy that this is how things turned out, but I do think this outcome is the best for all parties involved. https://t.co/K6Bt5is5wz #NetflixWalkout
— Terra Field (@RainofTerra) November 22, 2021
