Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) shares fell 2 per cent in early trading on Wednesday after billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk called on his 226 million X followers to cancel their subscriptions to the streaming service, sparking a viral boycott movement across social media.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO’s intervention came amid mounting controversy over an animated children’s programme and inflammatory comments about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The stock, which had been trading at $1,206.41 on Tuesday, dropped to $1,198.92 by Wednesday morning, erasing approximately £8.5 billion ($10.2 billion) from the company’s market value.
Cancel Netflix for the health of your kids,” Musk wrote on his social media platform X at 7:42 AM GMT on Wednesday, sharing a post that depicted Netflix as a Trojan horse targeting children with what critics called transgender ideology. The post garnered 7.3 million views within hours of publication.
Controversy Over Cancelled Children’s Show
The boycott centres on “Dead End: Paranormal Park,” an animated series that was actually cancelled by Netflix in January 2023 after two seasons. The show, which featured a 17-year-old transgender protagonist named Barney Guttman, has become a lightning rod for conservative criticism despite no longer being in production.
The controversy reignited after the account Libs of TikTok shared a clip from the series on Sunday, claiming the programme was “pushing pro-transgender on CHILDREN” and warning parents that it was “advertised for 7-YEAR-OLDS.” The post has been viewed more than 26 million times.
Musk responded to the clip with “This is not ok,” before escalating his criticism. In a separate post on Monday evening, he replied “Same” to a user who shared a screenshot of their cancelled Netflix subscription, signalling his own participation in the boycott.
Charlie Kirk Comments Fuel Backlash
The situation intensified following revelations about comments made by the show’s creator, Hamish Steele, regarding the 10 September assassination of Charlie Kirk. The 31-year-old conservative activist and Turning Point USA co-founder was fatally shot whilst speaking at Utah Valley University, sending shockwaves through American politics.
Social media accounts accused Steele of making derogatory remarks about Kirk’s death, with screenshots circulating widely amongst conservative users. Matt Van Swol, a former US Department of Energy scientist, posted: “Just cancelled my Netflix subscription. If you employ someone who celebrated the murder of Charlie Kirk and makes content that pushes pro-trans content on my kids… you will NEVER get a dime of my money.”
Steele, who has since made his X profile private, responded on the platform Bluesky, calling the accusations “lies and slander” and noting that Netflix was not currently promoting the cancelled show. He added that he had received “extremely nasty weird homophobic and antisemitic emails” that were “getting a little scary.”
Mass Cancellation Movement Gains Steam
The boycott quickly gained momentum, with thousands of users posting screenshots of their cancelled subscriptions under the hashtag #CancelNetflix. Conservative accounts amplified the movement, with MAGA Voice declaring: “BREAKING: After Elon Musk told his 226 million followers he’s CANCELLING Netflix, the trend has gone VIRAL.
The animated series’ voice actor, Zach Barack, who plays the transgender character Barney, defended the show on social media, stating: “I’m trans & have been out for 10 years. I’m happier than I’ve ever been & if someone had shown me this television programme as a kid it would’ve saved me years of hating myself!”
Financial analysts noted that whilst the 2 per cent decline was significant, broader market conditions might also be contributing to the selloff. The controversy comes as Netflix faces increased scrutiny over its content choices, with the streaming giant previously weathering similar storms over programmes like “Cuties” in 2020.
Market Response and Analyst Views
Despite the immediate stock decline, Wall Street analysts remain largely bullish on Netflix’s long-term prospects. Goldman Sachs maintained a neutral stance whilst trimming its 12-month price target slightly from £1,089 to £1,083 ($1,310 to $1,300), citing questions about advertising tier expansion and competition.
Bernstein retained its “Outperform” rating with a £1,158 ($1,390) price target, highlighting the stock’s impressive 70 per cent surge over the past year. The consensus amongst 37 analysts shows an average 12-month target of £1,165 ($1,398), suggesting approximately 16 per cent upside from current levels.
Netflix shares had been performing strongly in 2025, up 34.5 per cent year-to-date before Wednesday’s decline. The company, which boasts 14,000 employees and a market capitalisation of approximately £424 billion ($509 billion), has not yet responded to requests for comment about the boycott.
Previous Corporate Boycotts
This is not the first time a major American corporation has faced conservative backlash over perceived “woke” content or associations. In 2023, Bud Light sales collapsed after parent company Anheuser-Busch launched a promotion featuring transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. That same year, retailer Target faced similar boycotts after releasing Pride Month merchandise.
The Netflix controversy also reflects Musk’s increasing willingness to leverage his massive social media following to influence corporate behaviour. The billionaire, who purchased Twitter (now X) for £36.5 billion ($44 billion) in 2022, has previously targeted companies including Disney and Wikipedia over what he perceives as left-wing bias.
As trading continued on Wednesday, retail investor sentiment on platforms like Stocktwits shifted from “neutral” to “bearish,” with users posting comments such as “bloodbath week coming soon” and calling the streaming service “woke trash.” The stock was trending amongst the top 10 most-discussed equities on the platform.
Whether Musk’s boycott call will have lasting impact on Netflix’s subscriber numbers remains to be seen. The streaming giant is scheduled to report its third-quarter earnings on 21 October, which will provide the first concrete data on any potential subscriber losses from the controversy.
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