Reports have been circulating that Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings has donated money to Vice President Kamala Harris‘ presidential campaign. This has led to calls for mass cancellation of the streaming service. Harris is one of the leading contenders to become the Democratic Party nominee in the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
Here is everything we have learned about whether Hastings donated money to Kamala Harris.
Did Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings donate money to Kamala Harris?
Yes, Netflix co-founder and executive chairman Reed Hastings donated $7 million to a super PAC supporting Harris.
Speaking to The Information, a website primarily focused on technology, Hastings disclosed the considerable donation and said, “After the depressing debate, we are in the game again,” According to the publication, Hastings made the donation on fellow billionaire Reid Hoffman’s recommendation. He revealed that this was the biggest donation he had ever made to a single candidate.
Initially, President Joe Biden was the Democratic nominee against the Republican Party’s Donald Trump. However, he garnered widespread criticism for his performance in the first presidential debate on June 27, 2024, the same one Hastings alluded to in his interview with The Information. On July 21, Biden announced that he would not contest in the upcoming election and endorsed Harris. Shortly thereafter, Harris received the non-binding support of enough Democratic delegates to secure her position as the presumptive nominee.
Why are people canceling Netflix?
After news of Hastings’ donation became public, some people took to social media to announce that they were canceling Netflix and urged others to do so.
An X (formerly known as Twitter) user with the handle @honey_bee48 posted, “For real, cancel Netflix this is the last time for me I will never pay for them again. There are to many free apps that have the same shit to watch. The co founder donated over 7m to kamala campaign fook them!”
Another user, @ShannonLancer, also called for a mass cancellation of Netflix, claiming that the streaming giant donated the money to Harris.
But, as the community notes underneath their post point out, Hastings appears to have given the money in his personal capacity. Variety reported that they had reached out to Netflix, but their representative declined to comment.
Hastings is one of the latest additions to the growing number of influential Democratic Party supporters gathering around Harris’ presidential campaign. A few days ago, he took to X to congratulate the current Vice President, “Congrats to Kamala Harris — now it is time to win,” he posted.
