Saudi Arabia agreed to host explicit Netflix shows in exchange for the removal of a satirical episode that criticized the kingdom, the streaming giant's CEO said.
On January 1, 2019, Netflix confirmed it removed for its Saudi viewers an episode of "Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj" in which Minhaj accused Saudi Arabia of covering up the killing of Jamal Khashoggi and slammed the continued bombing of Yemen.
"It blows my mind that it took the killing of a Washington Post journalist for ever one to go: 'Oh, I guess [Crown Prince Mohammed] is not a reformer," he said in the episode.
"Meanwhile, every Muslim person you know was like: 'Yeah, no s---.'"
At the time, Netflix said it deleted the show following a "valid legal request" from the kingdom which claimed the episode violated its cybercrime laws.
But on September 10, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said the show was removed in exchange for some of its other, more explicit content could be made available to Saudi customers.
"It's a troubling compromise, not something that we approach easily or lightly, but on balance we think it's a good move,"Hastings told CNN.
Hastings said Saudi Arabia agreed to host shows like "Orange is the New Black," Queer Eye," and "Sex Education" in exchange.
And while Minhaj's episode was removed from Netflix in Saudi Arabia, it remained on the streaming company's YouTube page.
Despite huge social reforms over the last two years — like letting women drive and changing a law that let men control women's movements via app— Saudi Arabia remains an extremely conservative country.
Homosexuality is punishable with the death penalty in the kingdom, and women there do not enjoy anywhere near the same rights as men.
Minhaj mocked Netflix's decision to remove his episode at the time, tweeting: "Clearly, the best way to stop people from watching something is to ban it, make it trend online, and then leave it up on YouTube."
Netflix this week came under fire around the world, for airing "Cuties," a show about a young migrant in France that has been accused of promoting and glamorizing pedophilia.
