Ted Sarandos isn't bending the knee.
The Netflix co-CEO pushed back on Donald Trump's social media demand that the streaming giant fire board member Susan Rice, Barack Obama's former National Security Advisor. In an interview, Sarandos responded with the political equivalent of a shrug: "He likes to do a lot of things on social media."
Translation: We're not doing that.
According to Deadline, Trump posted on Truth Social calling for Rice's termination, continuing his long-running feud with the Obama administration and anyone associated with it. Rice has been on Netflix's board since 2018, and there's zero indication the company has any plans to change that.
This is a test case worth watching. Hollywood has always had a complicated relationship with political pressure - quick to issue statements, slower to put money where its mouth is. But Sarandos's dismissive response suggests Netflix isn't interested in playing ball with presidential tantrums, even from a president who could theoretically make their regulatory life difficult.
It's also smart business. Netflix is a global company that can't afford to look like it caves to domestic political pressure every time someone tweets. Their shareholders might not love Rice's politics, but they definitely won't love the precedent of firing board members because a president demanded it.
The streaming wars have been about content libraries and subscriber numbers. But the next battle might be about corporate independence versus political interference. Sarandos just drew his line in the sand.
