Netflix faces subscriber backlash after neck injury joke on Charlie Kirk anniversary
Netflix users began canceling their accounts after the streaming service posted a neck-injury joke on the one-year anniversary of Charlie Kirk's death.
Netflix sparked a wave of cancellations after its official UK and Ireland X account posted a meme showing a male character from The Gentlemen appearing to suffer a "neck injury" on September 10. The timing matched the one-year anniversary of the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, who was shot in the neck at Utah Valley University. The post was quickly condemned on social media, with users sharing cancellation emails and urging others to drop the service.
Conservative commentator Jack Posobiec called for a complete boycott, and actor Kevin Sorbo criticized Netflix as "sick." Additional remarks from figures such as Graham Allen and Mike Cernovich amplified the backlash, and some users highlighted a drop in Netflix's stock price. Turning Point USA plans a memorial event at the UCCU Center, which will be livestreamed.
Why it matters
The incident shows how political sensitivities can trigger mass consumer actions against major brands.
How this story developed
- Sep 6 Florida professor reinstated after social-media posts about Charlie Kirk spark controversy
- Sep 8 Turning Point USA’s chapter network kept growing and a Florida professor was reinstated after a legal ruling on her social‑media posts.
- Sep 10 Turning Point USA will hold a memorial for its late founder Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, and a student group plans to demonstrate against it.
- Sep 10 UVU officials clarified the memorial is a private event and not university‑sponsored.
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