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So he was fired for sharing he had ketamine based therapy for depression? Why? Like is it promoting drug use or something?

by ab71e5 2mo ago

Zafira 2mo ago
We can only speculate, but it would not be surprising if someone was hunting for a reason to get rid of them and thought this was a good excuse. Personally, I don’t think this is a good excuse and while we don’t have all the facts, it sounds like Netflix conceding the therapy factored into the dismissal is probably something they will very much regret admitting to on the record.
- DrJokepu 2mo ago
  I’ve been working in this industry for 20 years. Nobody gets fired for this, not at Netflix or any of the other studios. Especially a VP. I don’t know how to express how unlikely any of this is. This was an excuse, not the real reason.
  - randallsquared 2mo ago
    So they couldn't come up with an excuse that would have been a legitimate reason?
    - oaiey 2mo ago
      Also HR has bad employees / agent once in a while.
    - rsynnott 2mo ago
      Well, bear in mind that this all seems to be based on his account of the incident.
      - randallsquared 2mo ago
        Per the article, Netflix's attorney confirmed that the therapy factored into the decision.
dyauspitr 2mo ago
[flagged]
- deleted 2mo ago
  [deleted]
- gleenn 2mo ago
  It's not, although rules vary by state. Medical professionals can prescribe it even though it's a Schedule III drug. I get ads for these presumably legitimate therapy services online all the time on major social networks.
  - bijowo1676 2mo ago
    should Netflix fire all women on maternity leave, since they most likely were administered fentanyl during delivery ? why isn't Netflix firing anyone who had even a minor surgery or even tooth extraction done, since it most likely involved opioids
  - werdnapk 2mo ago
    Medical professionals can also use fentanyl among other drugs that aren't legal for recreational use.
- quietsegfault 2mo ago
  Firing someone for taking a prescribed therapeutic medication for a medical condition? Yeah, that’s illegal.
  - s1artibartfast 2mo ago
    So your heart surgeon can get high during surgery? Obviously the details matter.
  - anticensor 2mo ago
    What if no medication history and perfect health was a precondition of that position, with equivalent disability position with the same task except to those with heavy disability offered separately in the same entity?
bijowo1676 2mo ago
isn't this highly illegal, since it is used for medical purpose (mental health) ? its like firing a person who was sedated by professional Anesthesiologist with Fentanyl during surgery (A friend of mine had a surgery and was administered fentanyl)
- sidewndr46 2mo ago
  not that I'm aware of, no. Maybe in some states sure, but not in most.
- adastra22 2mo ago
  Yes, IANAL but it seems very much like grounds for an open-and-shut wrongful termination suit, given that they have admitted it up front. They could be taken to the cleaners for this.
  - dlcarrier 2mo ago
    This guy's back pay of income, severance, and benefits could really add up, but that's more a factor of him getting paid a lot in the first place than wrongful termination suits being particularly fruitful. I wouldn't really describe their payouts as being "taken to the cleaners".
    - adastra22 2mo ago
      Bringing a wrongful-termination suit is career-killing, so damages could be as much as his entire expected compensation of his remaining career (including equity grants), x6 for punitive damages.
  - s1artibartfast 2mo ago
    It is a lot more complicated than that. The details matter. Were they doing it at work? Did their usage patern or disclosure show poor judgment? It is very likely Netflix's argument would be more complex.
    - 2mo ago
chasd00 2mo ago
If HR policy says no drugs then that’s a wrap. Allowing an employee to violate HR policy probably puts the company in all sorts of legal risks.
- stult 2mo ago
  You can't have an HR policy that discriminates against people for receiving mental health treatment from a physician, that is plainly illegal under multiple statutes both federally and in the state of California. This was not a situation where he was on ketamine while at work, and there are no accusations that his ketamine use even affected his work at all, even incidentally or indirectly. Even if it had, Netflix would be required to make a reasonable accommodation for him. But we know it did not affect his work because he received treatment in 2022 and Netflix only found about it in 2026 after he disclosed the treatment. Besides, he is a movie executive, it's not like he is operating heavy machinery. Ketamine is unlikely to have any effect on him that would in any way expose Netflix to liability. Netflix seems to have simply assumed that all ketamine use is illegal and recreational, without bothering to conduct even the most cursory of investigations, which would have revealed that ketamine is in fact a clinically acceptable treatment for treatment-resistant depression. This is what happens when you have utterly incompetent idiots for in-house counsel and HR.
  - bijowo1676 2mo ago
    the case of unstoppable force (HR) meeting an immovable target (FMLA, ADA, EEOC, FEHA)
- hack1312 2mo ago
  HR policy is not the law
- vel0city 2mo ago
  No drugs even in a medical setting? Man, that's intense. Can't take anesthetics when facing surgery or similar situations. No epinephrine for anaphylaxic shock. Can't take insulin. Pretty rough. Ketamine is an FDA approved drug.
mlrtime 2mo ago
It's buried in the article but this is the way I read it. 1) Get invited to a trust exercise retreat. 2) Share that you have done ketamine in a controlled therapy environment. 3) Share a bunch of other things not in article <speculation> 4) Get fired for having a drug addiction. We are to assume that #2 caused #4 ... but without all the facts it could have been something in #3 + #2 , again speculation.

So he was fired for sharing he had ketamine based therapy for depression? Why? Like is it promoting drug use or something?

by ab71e5 2mo ago

So he was fired for sharing he had ketamine based therapy for depression? Why? Like is it promoting drug use or something?

Zafira 2mo ago

We can only speculate, but it would not be surprising if someone was hunting for a reason to get rid of them and thought this was a good excuse. Personally, I don’t think this is a good excuse and while we don’t have all the facts, it sounds like Netflix conceding the therapy factored into the dismissal is probably something they will very much regret admitting to on the record.

DrJokepu 2mo ago
I’ve been working in this industry for 20 years. Nobody gets fired for this, not at Netflix or any of the other studios. Especially a VP. I don’t know how to express how unlikely any of this is. This was an excuse, not the real reason.
- randallsquared 2mo ago
  So they couldn't come up with an excuse that would have been a legitimate reason?
  - oaiey 2mo ago
    Also HR has bad employees / agent once in a while.
  - rsynnott 2mo ago
    Well, bear in mind that this all seems to be based on his account of the incident.
    - randallsquared 2mo ago
      Per the article, Netflix's attorney confirmed that the therapy factored into the decision.

dyauspitr 2mo ago

[flagged]

deleted 2mo ago
[deleted]
gleenn 2mo ago
It's not, although rules vary by state. Medical professionals can prescribe it even though it's a Schedule III drug. I get ads for these presumably legitimate therapy services online all the time on major social networks.
- bijowo1676 2mo ago
  should Netflix fire all women on maternity leave, since they most likely were administered fentanyl during delivery ? why isn't Netflix firing anyone who had even a minor surgery or even tooth extraction done, since it most likely involved opioids
- werdnapk 2mo ago
  Medical professionals can also use fentanyl among other drugs that aren't legal for recreational use.
quietsegfault 2mo ago
Firing someone for taking a prescribed therapeutic medication for a medical condition? Yeah, that’s illegal.
- s1artibartfast 2mo ago
  So your heart surgeon can get high during surgery? Obviously the details matter.
- anticensor 2mo ago
  What if no medication history and perfect health was a precondition of that position, with equivalent disability position with the same task except to those with heavy disability offered separately in the same entity?

bijowo1676 2mo ago

isn't this highly illegal, since it is used for medical purpose (mental health) ? its like firing a person who was sedated by professional Anesthesiologist with Fentanyl during surgery (A friend of mine had a surgery and was administered fentanyl)

sidewndr46 2mo ago
not that I'm aware of, no. Maybe in some states sure, but not in most.
adastra22 2mo ago
Yes, IANAL but it seems very much like grounds for an open-and-shut wrongful termination suit, given that they have admitted it up front. They could be taken to the cleaners for this.
- dlcarrier 2mo ago
  This guy's back pay of income, severance, and benefits could really add up, but that's more a factor of him getting paid a lot in the first place than wrongful termination suits being particularly fruitful. I wouldn't really describe their payouts as being "taken to the cleaners".
  - adastra22 2mo ago
    Bringing a wrongful-termination suit is career-killing, so damages could be as much as his entire expected compensation of his remaining career (including equity grants), x6 for punitive damages.
- s1artibartfast 2mo ago
  It is a lot more complicated than that. The details matter. Were they doing it at work? Did their usage patern or disclosure show poor judgment? It is very likely Netflix's argument would be more complex.
  - 2mo ago

chasd00 2mo ago

If HR policy says no drugs then that’s a wrap. Allowing an employee to violate HR policy probably puts the company in all sorts of legal risks.

stult 2mo ago
You can't have an HR policy that discriminates against people for receiving mental health treatment from a physician, that is plainly illegal under multiple statutes both federally and in the state of California. This was not a situation where he was on ketamine while at work, and there are no accusations that his ketamine use even affected his work at all, even incidentally or indirectly. Even if it had, Netflix would be required to make a reasonable accommodation for him. But we know it did not affect his work because he received treatment in 2022 and Netflix only found about it in 2026 after he disclosed the treatment. Besides, he is a movie executive, it's not like he is operating heavy machinery. Ketamine is unlikely to have any effect on him that would in any way expose Netflix to liability. Netflix seems to have simply assumed that all ketamine use is illegal and recreational, without bothering to conduct even the most cursory of investigations, which would have revealed that ketamine is in fact a clinically acceptable treatment for treatment-resistant depression. This is what happens when you have utterly incompetent idiots for in-house counsel and HR.
- bijowo1676 2mo ago
  the case of unstoppable force (HR) meeting an immovable target (FMLA, ADA, EEOC, FEHA)
hack1312 2mo ago
HR policy is not the law
vel0city 2mo ago
No drugs even in a medical setting? Man, that's intense. Can't take anesthetics when facing surgery or similar situations. No epinephrine for anaphylaxic shock. Can't take insulin. Pretty rough. Ketamine is an FDA approved drug.

mlrtime 2mo ago

It's buried in the article but this is the way I read it. 1) Get invited to a trust exercise retreat. 2) Share that you have done ketamine in a controlled therapy environment. 3) Share a bunch of other things not in article <speculation> 4) Get fired for having a drug addiction. We are to assume that #2 caused #4 ... but without all the facts it could have been something in #3 + #2 , again speculation.