Netflix issued a weird statement today sorta kinda threatening to boycott Georgia over the heartbeat bill:
CBNC – Netflix says it will continue to film in Georgia amid controversy surrounding the state’s passage of an abortion law forbidding termination of a pregnancy after an indication of a heartbeat.
But the company said it would rethink its investment in Georgia should the bill go into effect. The statement comes as some in the film and TV industry have said they will boycott working in the state because of the law.
So Netflix won’t boycott because the Governor singed the bill, but they might boycott if the courts don’t permanently block the bill?
Doesn’t sound like they really want to commit to this boycott:
“We have many women working on productions in Georgia, whose rights, along with millions of others, will be severely restricted by this law,” Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said in a statement sent to CNBC on Tuesday. “It’s why we will work with the ACLU and others to fight it in court. Given the legislation has not yet been implemented, we’ll continue to film there — while also supporting partners and artists who choose not to. Should it ever come into effect, we’d rethink our entire investment in Georgia.”
Phil Kerpen offers a succinct way to look at this:
To summarize, @netflix wants you to know they are very strongly pro-abortion, but they’ll also keep on pocketing that sweet Georgia TV production tax credit for the foreseeable future.https://t.co/cKxUlAKee3
— Phil Kerpen (@kerpen) May 28, 2019
Yep. What we are seeing is the reality of economics versus liberal principles.
Netflix doesn’t want to wholly commit to the boycott because it will hit them right in the wallet. And this is obviously a concern for them as they keep going up on their monthly revenues.