Elon Musk’s campaign against a canceled cartoon reignites debate over streaming, values, and whether outrage can move markets.
Netflix is currently under fresh pressure after Tesla CEO Elon Musk called on his more than 200 million followers on X to cancel their Netflix subscriptions. The target? The animated series Dead End: Paranormal Park, which features a transgender protagonist and was canceled in 2023, but remains available on the platform.
Musk reposted criticism of a scene in which the lead character, Barney, identifies as transgender, labeling the series part of a “transgender woke agenda” and urging subscribers to “cancel Netflix for the health of your kids.”
He also accused Netflix of promoting ideological content for children; in the span of several days, he reposted similar messages at least 26 times.
Netflix shares dropped 2.3% on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, followed by another 2.9% decline on Thursday, October 2, 2025—moves widely linked to the backlash and Musk’s calls for a boycott.
Netflix has not issued a public response. The show’s creator, Hamish Steele, denies allegations that he celebrated the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk—claims that fueled the outrage—but says he has received “homophobic and antisemitic emails.”
In a message on Bluesky, he wrote, “It’s all lies and slander! Netflix is NOT promoting at the moment!”
Dead End: Paranormal Park originally aired in 2022 and was canceled the next year. The renewed controversy was sparked when the account Libs of TikTok shared a clip of Barney’s transgender coming-out, claiming Netflix was marketing the show to very young children.
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