Netflix has denied shuffling the order of some of its TV series based on a viewer’s sexuality.
The platform was accused of changing the order in which episodes are shown on new series Love, Death & Robots earlier this week (March 18) by Out In Tech co-founder Lukas Thoms.
“Just discovered the most INSANE thing,” he tweeted. “The ORDER OF THE EPISODES for Netflix’s new series Love Death & Robots changes based on whether Netflix thinks you’re gay or straight.”
Just discovered the most INSANE thing. The ORDER OF THE EPISODES for Netflix's new series Love Death & Robots changes based on whether Netflix thinks you're gay or straight.
— Lukas Thoms (@LukasThoms) March 19, 2019
Following it up with a screenshot showing how the episodes appeared in his Netflix account and how they appeared in his “straight friend” Andrew’s account, he proceeded to point out their differences.
According to Thoms, his order began with an episode which focused on a lesbian storyline, while Andrew’s began with an episode “that has the most realistic and explicit heater sex.”
He added that two of his other friends, who are also gay, shared the same episode order as him.
On the left is my account, starting with the one with a lesbian storyline, and the right is my straight friend Andrew's account, starting with the one that has the most realistic and explicit hetero sex. pic.twitter.com/kSMuaFhSbU
— Lukas Thoms (@LukasThoms) March 19, 2019
Some viewers of Queer Eye have also reported getting a different episode order to their friends.
Netflix has denied the claims, responding to Thoms’ tweet by saying that they were “trying something completely new” with Love, Death & Robots, but it had nothing to do with a user’s sexuality.
“We’ve never had a show like Love, Death & Robots before so we’re trying something completely new: presenting four different episode orders,” Netflix tweeted.
We've never had a show like Love, Death & Robots before so we're trying something completely new: presenting four different episode orders. The version you're shown has nothing to do with gender, ethnicity, or sexual identity — info we don't even have in the first place.
— Netflix US (@netflix) March 19, 2019
“The version you’re shown has nothing to do with gender, ethnicity, or sexual identity — info we don’t even have in the first place.”
Last week it was reported that Netflix had finally decided to remove footage of a real-life train disaster from popular title Bird Box, two months after insisting that the sensitive scene wouldn’t be replaced.
The horror movie initially sparked backlash after an apocalyptic disaster was represented through real-life footage of the 2013 Lac-Mégantic disaster, which killed 47 people when a train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded in a small Canadian town.
“We’re sorry for any pain caused to the Lac-Mégantic community,” Netflix apologised.