Netflix Won’t Remove Russell Brand’s ‘Re:Birth’ Special, but It’s Hiding It From Viewers
Russell Brand’s case has led broadcasters and streamers to rethink content featuring the comedian. Brand was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison after being convicted of rape and sexual assault. The conviction last week was on charges of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others.
Other companies have already made changes. The BBC said that it had removed a joke from a 2008 episode of Gavin and Stacey on iPlayer, where Nessa (Ruth Jones) alludes to a “cracking night” with the comedian. That put attention on Netflix, which has hosted one of Brand’s stand-up specials for years.
Netflix has now made its position clear. Deadline reported that Netflix won’t remove Russell Brand: Re:Birth, the 2018 original comedy show filmed in front of a live audience at the Hackney Empire in East London. The decision followed internal discussions, Deadline reports.
The special hasn’t been left untouched. Netflix has confirmed it won’t be recommending Brand’s comedy special Re:Birth to subscribers and has hidden it from the search function.
In practice, the show does not appear in viewing recommendations and does not come up when searching Brand’s name. It can still be found by searching for “British stand-up comedy,” according to Deadline, and a UK outlet found that misspelling his surname as “Band” also surfaces it.
Russell Brand (@RustyRockets) is totally not a gay reptilian space alien involved with the Illuminati, so check out his new special, RE:BIRTH, streaming now! https://t.co/xFqhfAF6uo
— Netflix Is A Joke (@NetflixIsAJoke) December 4, 2018
Netflix explained the decision in a statement. A spokesperson told Deadline that the company prioritizes choice and control for its members, with recommendations and ratings there to help inform what people watch.
Re:Birth was made several years before the trial. It debuted on Netflix on 4 December 2018 and was filmed at the Hackney Empire theatre in East London in April 2018 during his 2017–18 comedy tour of the same name.
According to Netflix’s description, the special sees Brand reflecting on how his life changed when he became a father. The comedy show also features Brand reflecting on his past promiscuity and activism. It includes a crude joke about the birth of his daughter that suggests watching a birth made him re-evaluate his attitude toward women.
Not everyone agrees with Netflix’s approach. Jill Greenfield, chair of the Fawcett Society, a group that campaigns for gender equality and women’s rights, described the decision as somewhat surprising. She added that broadcasters need to think about their audience, especially when further investigations are ongoing.
Others see the move as consistent with how Netflix has handled controversy before. The decision shouldn’t exactly come as a surprise from Netflix, which stood by Dave Chappelle over his views on transgender rights.
The special isn’t the only Brand project on the platform. Searching for Russell Brand on Netflix in an internet browser no longer returns Re:Birth in the results, although other films featuring Brand, including St. Trinians and Death on the Nile, remain visible.
‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’, which helped break Brand in America, is listed but currently not available on Netflix in the UK, as is its sequel ‘Get Him to the Greek’. The result is a middle-ground approach.
The special is buried rather than deleted, so viewers who know how to find it still can, while Netflix no longer promotes it. Whether that compromise satisfies critics remains to be seen, especially as other broadcasters keep reviewing older content featuring the comedian.
Do you think Netflix made the right decision by hiding Russell Brand's ‘Re:Birth’ special instead of removing it entirely?
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