At the time, trans and LGBTQ comedians spoke out about Chappelle’s Netflix special, but the highest-profile action consisted of dozens of Netflix’s own employees performing a walk out. Chappelle was heavily criticized in October 2021 for bragging during his special The Closer he was “team ” and comparing trans presentation to blackface. There are differences between the controversies. And both instances feel part of a bigger, growing conversation : How much responsibility do content platforms have for their biggest stars? Young’s condemnation of Spotify echoes the whirlwind around the release of Dave Chappelle’s Netflix special The Closer, which led many creators and internal employees to slam the streamer over anti-trans content. In that role, it is important to me that we don’t take on the position of being content censor while also making sure that there are rules in place and consequences for those who violate them.” We know we have a critical role to play in supporting creator expression while balancing it with the safety of our users. Personally, there are plenty of individuals and views on Spotify that I disagree with strongly. Pick almost any issue and you will find people and opinions on either side of it.

“To our very core, we believe that listening is everything. “A decade ago, we created Spotify to enable the work of creators around the world to be heard and enjoyed by listeners around the world,” Ek writes in the post. 30, in a blog post credited to Spotify founder Daniel Ek (that does not mention either Young or Rogan), Spotify announced that it was “working to add a content advisory to any podcast episode that includes a discussion about COVID-19” which, when implemented, direct listeners to a COVID hub where they can find updates from the BBC, Politico, CNN, and other mainstream news sources. The uproar caused by Young’s protest prompted Spotify to finally issue a statement on Sunday. Late last week, after a series of open letters to Spotify imploring the streaming audio site to cut host Joe Rogan loose from its podcast roster over vaccinated-related misinformation, legendary musician Neil Young voluntarily removed his music from the platform.

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