Netflix’s Pulling of a Hasan Minhaj Episode Is a Failure to Defend Artistic Freedom
- 5 years ago
Netflix has caved to pressure from the Saudi Arabian government and pulled an episode of Patriot Act With Hasan Minhaj that was critical of crown prince Mohammad bin Salman.
The episode, which is still available outside of Saudi Arabia, questions America's relationship with Saudi Arabia after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
“Now would be a good time to reassess our relationship with Saudi Arabia,” Minhaj said in a segment that's still available on YouTube, “and I mean that as a Muslim and an American.”
“The Saudis were struggling to explain his disappearance: they said he left the consulate safely, then they used a body double to make it seem like he was alive,” Minhaj said. “At one point they were saying he died in a fist fight, Jackie Chan-style. They went through so many explanations. The only one they didn’t say was that Khashoggi died in a free solo rock-climbing accident.”
Netflix removed the episode after the Saudi government’s Communications and Information Technology Commission issued a takedown request that Minhaj's comments violated the country's all-encompassing anti-cyber crime law, which prohibits the “production, preparation, transmission or storage of material impinging on public order, religious values, public morals and privacy” on the internet.
"We strongly support artistic freedom worldwide and only removed this episode in Saudi Arabia after we had received a valid legal request—and to comply with local law," Netflix said in a statement defending its decision.
However, human rights activists have been critical of Netflix caving to Saudi Arabia—which is listed by the Committee to Protect Journalists as the third most censored country in the world.
“Every artist whose work appears on Netflix should be outraged that the company has agreed to censor a comedy show because the thin-skinned royals in Saudi complained about it,” a spokesperson from Human Rights Watch told The Guardian. “Netflix’s claim to support artistic freedom means nothing if it bows to demands of government officials who believe in no freedom for their citizens—not artistic, not political, not comedic.”
The episode, which is still available outside of Saudi Arabia, questions America's relationship with Saudi Arabia after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
“Now would be a good time to reassess our relationship with Saudi Arabia,” Minhaj said in a segment that's still available on YouTube, “and I mean that as a Muslim and an American.”
“The Saudis were struggling to explain his disappearance: they said he left the consulate safely, then they used a body double to make it seem like he was alive,” Minhaj said. “At one point they were saying he died in a fist fight, Jackie Chan-style. They went through so many explanations. The only one they didn’t say was that Khashoggi died in a free solo rock-climbing accident.”
Netflix removed the episode after the Saudi government’s Communications and Information Technology Commission issued a takedown request that Minhaj's comments violated the country's all-encompassing anti-cyber crime law, which prohibits the “production, preparation, transmission or storage of material impinging on public order, religious values, public morals and privacy” on the internet.
"We strongly support artistic freedom worldwide and only removed this episode in Saudi Arabia after we had received a valid legal request—and to comply with local law," Netflix said in a statement defending its decision.
However, human rights activists have been critical of Netflix caving to Saudi Arabia—which is listed by the Committee to Protect Journalists as the third most censored country in the world.
“Every artist whose work appears on Netflix should be outraged that the company has agreed to censor a comedy show because the thin-skinned royals in Saudi complained about it,” a spokesperson from Human Rights Watch told The Guardian. “Netflix’s claim to support artistic freedom means nothing if it bows to demands of government officials who believe in no freedom for their citizens—not artistic, not political, not comedic.”