Elon Musk’s Netflix Boycott Call Goes Viral, Netflix Stock Slides

Musk’s Call to Action

Elon Musk urged his 226 million followers on X to “Cancel Netflix for the health of your kids” in an October 1 post that quickly went viral. The remark followed his earlier interactions with users, including a reply of “Same” to one cancellation screenshot, which helped ignite the trending hashtag #CancelNetflix. Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Market Impact

Within hours of Musk’s post, the hashtag dominated X, drawing millions of views. Netflix shares slipped roughly 2 percent in early trading. However, analysts noted that the decline coincided with broader market turbulence, making it difficult to measure the direct impact of the boycott calls. At press time, Netflix had not issued an official response. John-Mark Smith / Pexels

Background on Musk’s Criticism

Musk’s posts were tied to resurfaced clips of Dead End: Paranormal Park, an animated series featuring a transgender lead character, and screenshots of remarks attributed to creator Hamish Steele. The remarks resurfaced following the September 10 assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, which Musk’s supporters connected to Steele despite his denial of celebrating Kirk’s death. Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Musk’s Escalating Posts

Musk’s criticism unfolded over several days. On September 29, he replied to a clip by Libs of TikTok, writing, “This is deeply wrong.” The following day, he posted “This is not ok” in response to another clip and later added “Same” to a user’s cancellation screenshot. On October 1, he escalated to his explicit call for users to abandon Netflix. The cancellation call reached more than 7 million views within hours. Web Summit, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Steele’s Response

Hamish Steele addressed the controversy on Bluesky, writing:
“I have mostly been very ok today and found it all quite funny, while really appreciating everyone who has reached out, but the extremely nasty weird homophonic and antisemitic emails have started rolling in and it is getting a little scary so I apologise if I take longer to respond to stuff.”

Steele also clarified that he “never” celebrated Kirk’s killing. While Dead End: Paranormal Park ended production in 2023 after two seasons, episodes remain available on Netflix and continue to serve as a flashpoint for critics. @hamishsteele.bsky.social / Bluesky