Corporate culture at Netflix scrutinized amid new employee lawsuits

Amidst ex-labour's ongoing lawsuits, Netflix has once again come under scrutiny for its toxic and discriminatory workplace culture by its former director of Kids & Family Acquisitions and Co-Commissions, Amy Takahara.

Recently, Takahara has amended a lawsuit accusing the streaming giant's top-level executives of racial discrimination, harassment, and retaliatory actions. This newly surfaced lawsuit directly follows another one filed by Nhu‑Y Phan, ex-labor relations counsel, who claimed wrongful termination after reporting similar misconduct.

While both these lawsuits accusing Netflix of a toxic workplace culture are separate, they are deeply related and shine a spotlight on the platform's 'adapt or perish' work culture.

Takahara amended her lawsuit against the streamer and Edward Horasz, the current Director of Kids & Tween Live Action and Content Licensing, accusing him of harassment and exposing the secretive inner workings of the company, where only powerful and top executives grow, and whistleblowers are wrongfully terminated for raising their voice against discrimination.

More on this in our story.

All about Amy Takahara's recently amended lawsuit against Netflix

Amy Takahara, who was recently terminated from her position at Netflix, filed a lawsuit claiming that she was wrongfully fired on January 13, after serving seven years in the company.

According to her 33-page filing in the Los Angeles Superior Court, her wrongful termination immediately followed her confrontation with Horasz over his misbehavior, which was not taken seriously by Netflix's top management, Ted Sarandos, and Greg Peters:

“In sum, Ms. Takahara’s repeated complaints unfortunately fell on deaf ears.''

Her new filing (in May 2025) accuses Horasz of stealing her creative ideas, pitches, and attacking her mental health by claiming that she cannot handle male-centered shows and should only ''stick to female-based relationship shows.”

In addition to workplace harassment and toxic workplace culture, Takahara also called him out for his misogynistic behavior, complaining that Horasz would often mock pregnant employees and share his ideas to expand the team with more 'male employees'.

Defending these accusations, a company spokesperson said in a statement to Deadline:

“Ms. Takahara’s position was eliminated after the team was downsized. Her claims lack merit, and we believe the proceedings will prove it.”

Netflix also allegedly terminated an ex-labor relations executive

In addition to Takahara's recently amended lawsuit, the streaming giant was already facing legal action from an ex-labor relations executive, who claimed that she was wrongfully terminated after reporting misconduct by top management.

Nhu-Y Phan claimed in her lawsuit that she was wrongfully terminated 10 months ago, immediately after she raised her voice against Ted Sinclair’s racial discrimination and Jonah Cozien’s sexual harassment. Both Sinclair and Cozien are Phan's former supervisors who were accused of discrimination against women of color and sexual harassment against female employees, respectively.

Reportedly, Phan repeatedly complained about Sinclair's misconduct to Netflix's Director of Human Resources and Labor Relations, Marcella Nurse, which read as:

“Mr. Sinclair had a history of microaggressions and micromanagements that I do not feel like he does to others. He continued to deny professional opportunities.''

Soon after these repeated allegations, Phan was terminated from the company for ‘performance issues', despite having positive performance reviews each quarter.

In a statement to Deadline, a spokesperson also defended the company against Phan's accusations as:

“These claims lack merit, and we intend to defend this matter vigorously.''

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