Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and owner of X, has ignited a global storm after urging his 226 million followers to cancel their Netflix subscriptions.
The South African-born billionaire’s criticism followed resurfaced posts by Hamish Steele, creator of Netflix’s Dead End: Paranormal Park, featuring a transgender teen.
He also condemned Netflix for hiring Steele, who had made offensive remarks about conservative activist Charlie Kirk, accusing the streamer of employing someone who ‘celebrated’ Kirk’s death.”
“Cancel Netflix,” Musk wrote on Wednesday, doubling down with another post saying, “Cancel Netflix for the health of your kids.”
The Founder, CEO, and chief engineer of SpaceX, the company that owns and operates Starlink in at least 22 African countries also shared user complaints that Netflix was promoting what he called a “woke agenda,” intensifying calls for a boycott.
Netflix, the popular subscription streaming service, has not issued an official response, even as the as the row sparks fierce debate on X about children’s content and representation in media.
The storm comes at a crucial time for Netflix when the streaming giant has around 4.5 million subscribers across Sub-Saharan Africa, with South Africa and Nigeria as leading markets.
A new partnership with Canal+, which kicked off in July, gave Netflix access to over 8.2 million
Since July 2025, Canal+ subscribers have been able to access Netflix directly through their pay-TV platform in 24 French-speaking markets, including Ivory Coast, Senegal and Cameroon.
Adding weight to Africa’s role in Netflix’s strategy is Zimbabwean tech billionaire Strive Masiyiwa, who has served on the board since 2020.
Masiyiwa, founder of Econet Global, was appointed for his deep knowledge of African markets and his track record in telecommunications and digital finance.
For African audiences, Masiyiwa’s presence highlights the continent’s strategic importance, offering Netflix insight into Africa’s price-sensitive markets, connectivity hurdles, and cultural expectations.
As the boycott storm rages, it remains unclear whether Musk’s calls have dented Netflix’s subscriber base, though some X users claimed to have cancelled and even shared screenshots of their termination pages.
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