Netflix has come under fire after it confirmed that it would not be streaming the documentary of a prominent black Islamic leader.
Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, was set to have a documentary stream on Netflix for the 1st of August, but the streaming giant pulled the plug on the deal.
The documentary was supposed to follow the life and musical career of the Islamic leader who also cuts a controversial figure due to his anti-Semitic statements.
Farrakhan had earlier tweeted: “On August 1st, watch the premiere of my music documentary ‘My Life’s Journey Through Music’ on @netflix.”
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Also, the documentary had been listed on the lineup of programs to be streamed on Netflix in August.
According to a response from the streaming service, the show was not supposed to be scheduled and was only listed due to an ‘internal miscommunication’. The company didn’t say more about the issue.
Farrakhan and his representatives are yet to respond to this new development.
However, a number of Jewish organizations did speak out on the development when Farrakhan initially released his announcement.
Rabbi Marvin Hier, the founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, an organization dedicated to fighting anti-Semitism had said on hearing the announcement that he called up Netflix’s chief executive, Ted Sarandos who told him that the movie won’t be released.
“Documentaries should always be screened,” Rabbi Hier said. “But not by bigots and haters.”
Farrakhan has had a well-documented career of anti-semitic statements, including one speech at a Nation of Islam convention where he said Jews were “responsible for all of this filth and degenerate behavior that Hollywood is putting out turning men into women and women into men.”
Also in a video by activist Dr Boyce Watkins, he said that Netflix’s decision not to air Farrakhan’s documentary continues a trend where black people are not invited into white spaces and that black people need to create more spaces so that they have more places to express their opinions.
You can check out Dr. Watkins’ video below