Netflix’s antitrust hearing morphed into a culture-war fight over ‘wokeness’

By Liam Reilly, Brian Stelter, CNN

(CNN) — Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos on Tuesday faced skeptical lawmakers during a Senate hearing on his company’s pending $83 billion deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming and studio assets.

While many senators grilled Sarandos over antitrust issues, labor concerns and consumer prices, several conservative members focused instead on unsubstantiated accusations that Netflix promotes “woke” content and “transgender ideology.”

The culture-war attacks echoed claims made by MAGA influencers urging President Donald Trump to block the deal — and may preview how the administration could seek to stall the merger. (CNN, which is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, is not part of the transaction.)

Sen. Eric Schmitt told Sarandos that Netflix has created “the wokest content in the history of the world,” adding that the streaming giant has “made a habit of promoting DEI and wokeness” and “oversexualizes for kids.”

“The overwhelming majority of your stuff is overwhelmingly woke, and it’s not reflective of what the American people want to see,” Schmitt said. “Why in the world would we give a seal of approval or a thumbs up to make you the largest behemoth on the planet related to content?”

Sarandos disputed the claims, saying Netflix “has no political agenda” and offers a wide range of programming “left, right and center,” as customers can see by browsing the service.

Sen. Josh Hawley asked Sarandos why “so much of Netflix content for children promotes a transgender ideology.”

When Sarandos told Hawley that his claim was “inaccurate,” and that the platform features “a wide variety of stories and programs to meet a wide variety of people’s taste,” Hawley responded that “almost half” of Netflix’s children’s programming features “this highly controversial, highly sexualized material.”

Hawley did not provide a source for his “almost half” statistic, but his claims mirror an anti-Netflix report produced by a conservative outlet originally created by the Heritage Foundation.

The report, shared with allies ahead of the Tuesday hearing, accused Netflix of “social engineering through entertainment” and repeated many familiar right-wing critiques.

Conservative influencers with close ties to the Trump administration laid the groundwork for MAGA opposition to the merger in December by depicting a Netflix-Warner combination as a “monopoly.” MAGA podcaster Benny Johnson said the combined company would “push trans ideology, race guilt, and anti-family messaging straight into your living room.”

That narrative continued Tuesday despite Sarandos’s best efforts to describe the reality of Netflix’s content slate.

Sen. Ted Cruz also attacked Netflix as a “left-wing company,” citing its multi-year production deal with Barack and Michelle Obama, and warning the merger would create “a propaganda outlet pushing one particular political view with much greater market power.”

Netflix executives have frequently pointed out that it’s in their corporate interest to appeal to a politically diverse audience, and thereby keep people paying for the service.

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