Former Netflix exec Amy Takahara sues streamer for wrongful termination, gender bias
Amy Takahara, former director of kids and family acquisitions and co-commissions at Netflix, has filed an amended lawsuit against the streamer for wrongful termination and gender bias.
Takahara, who left Netflix in February after six-and-a-half years at the firm, initially filed a legal complaint against the company in May. Last week, this was amended and refiled to include more details of the claim.
The lawsuit alleges Takahara was wrongfully sacked in January after confronting Edward Horasz, Netflix’s director of kids and tween live-action and content licensing, for hostile and inappropriate behaviour.
According to the lawsuit, Takahara “endured a pervasive and hostile environment created by Mr Horasz, in which she was subjected to constant gender discrimination and sex harassment that demeaned and humiliated her, negatively affected her ability to do her job and ultimately caused her lost career opportunities and emotional distress.”
The lawsuit continues: “Ms Takahara was constantly degraded, treated differently, undermined, deprived of a voice, made to feel unimportant as a female executive and repeatedly denied just and due credit for her hard work and professional successes which credit was instead given to her male boss.”
With the regard to the latter point, Takahara has accused Horasz of taking credit for young-adult drama Geek Girl, which she herself spearheaded.
Takahara has also accused Horasz of making offensive and misogynistic comments, including that she “nagged” him like a wife; mocking an all-female flight crew on a business trip; firing another female colleague who announced she was pregnant after returning to work from medical leave; complaining that he needed to hire other men to uplevel his team; mocking Takahara’s appearance; and saying he didn’t think Takahara could “handle male-based shows” and therefore should stick to female-based “relationship” shows.
Takahara alleges that when she confronted Horasz in a one-on-one meeting, he fired her on the spot while questioning her sanity, commenting that she was “spiralling” and that this “clearly isn’t good for your mental health so we should just part ways.” Prior to this, Takahara says she had already complained to Netflix about Horasz’s behaviour on multiple occasions.
Calling out Netflix’s “toxic workplace culture,” the lawsuit says it holds the streamer accountable for gender discrimination, sex harassment, retaliation, perceived disability discrimination and wrongful termination in violation of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act and public policy.
It also accuses Netflix of “recklessly, maliciously and oppressively” violating constitutional, statutory and common law rights under California law, and “demonstrates its conscious disregard of the rights or safety of others, warranting both significant compensatory and punitive damages.”
Posting on LinkedIn about the lawsuit, Takahara wrote: “It’s never easy to speak out, especially against a company where you’ve invested years of your life and built work you’re proud of. But after six-and-a-half years at Netflix, I felt I could no longer stay silent about the inequities and experiences that so many women, myself included, have quietly endured.
“This step wasn’t taken lightly. My hope is that it helps open the door for honest dialogue, accountability and lasting change.”
Prior to working at Netflix, Takahara was director of global acquisitions at Nickelodeon for two-and-a-half years, before which she was director of global distribution and TV sales at The Jim Henson Company. She also previously worked at Mattel, FremantleMedia, ABC Television, 20th Century Studios and NBCUniversal.
After leaving Netflix, she launched her own consulting company called Sigma Girl Media.
Responding to the lawsuit, a Netflix representative said: “Ms Takahara’s position was eliminated after the team was downsized. Her claims lack merit and we believe the proceedings will prove it.”
