‘It’s So Offensive.’ Netflix Does Not Hold Back About (Matt Damon’s) Claims Creators Are Asked To Repeat Plots

Earlier this year, when The Rip premiered on Netflix’s 2026 schedule, Matt Damon made a comment about the streamer giving notes about the benefit of reiterating plot points. Then, as the 2026 Oscar winners were announced, Conan O’Brien and Sterling K. Brown made a joke about it. Now, the streamer has responded to the claim, calling it “offensive” as executives turned down the notion of asking creators to do something like this.

In the days after O’Brien and Brown did a Casablanca themed-bit where they joked about streaming movies repeating plot points because viewers are on their phones, Netflix’s film chief, Dan Lin, reacted. He turned down claims that they do such a thing, telling reporters (via Deadline):

So, according to Netflix, they do not give notes asking filmmakers to repeat important points of the story.

However, earlier this year, Matt Damon claimed that they did. This came up as Ocean’s Eleven star was promoting his movie, The Rip, which you can watch with a Netflix subscription. He explained a couple of examples of possible notes they could get from the streamer, which included having a big action set piece in the first five minutes of the movie. He also said this about reiterating important points of the story:

Ever since Damon’s comment about this, Netflix potentially giving notes about repeating dialogue has been a major point of conversation this year. It came right as The Rip, which has some fun twists and got middling-to-positive reviews, was released on the streamer. So, it certainly got folks talking, and the Oscars joke brought it back into the spotlight.

However, some of Netflix’s top people are insisting that they don’t give notes like this. Along with Lin’s comment, Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria said:

So, it’s clear that, according to these Netflix execs, they do not give notes like the ones that were joked about at the Oscars and explained by Damon.

Along with Bajaria’s comment, Jinny Howe, the Head of UCAN (U.S.-Canada) Scripted Series, said that Netflix is very aware of “how savvy the audiences are.” Speaking more to that point, she said:

Fans sure aren’t shy about calling things out and sharing their reactions, especially when it comes to big Netflix projects like Stranger Things or Bridgerton, for example. And according to the streamer, they know that and do not ask creators to reiterate points.

Now, it will be interesting to see how this conversation continues as more projects, and specifically movies, are released on Netflix. Clearly, the streamer does not agree with the claims and jokes that people were making. So we’ll have to wait and see if more creators and executives speak up about the notes the company gives regarding how films are made and how stories are explained to the audience.