As of lately, a topic that has been trending on X (formerly known as Twitter) is #DontStreamOnMax. Throughout the hashtag, there’s a handful of people detailing why they have chosen to boycott the streaming service. The hashtag began circulating on social media once again at the beginning of last month. The announcement came just shortly after Disney, Hulu, and Max revealed their streaming bundle.
According to user Orions_universe, the breakdown and meaning of the boycott consist of four major parts: “shelving completed films in favor of tax write-offs,” “canceling critically acclaimed shows,” “allegedly not negotiating in good faith for content and licensing,” and “removing diverse content to keep costs down.” Additionally, it’s important to note that the boycott came after it was revealed that David Zaslav, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO, received a pay raise that equaled $49.7 million.
Shortly after the hashtag was created, social media users quickly jumped at the opportunity to express their grievances about the company. They shared that streaming platforms’ programming quality had declined and the cancellation of popular television shows was the final straw. As a result, Max was put on the chopping block, with many people calling for a boycott of the platform.
The backlash seemed to recently pick back up after Taiki Waititi’s gay pirate comedy, Our Flag Means Death, was canceled following its second season. On Monday, a fan-led group on X (formerly known as Twitter) called Adopt Our Crew, made a post referencing a significant date from the show.
“June the 3rd…an excellent day to bring back #DontStreamOnMax,” the group wrote.
The hashtag was then reignited with users sharing their personal reasons for boycotting the platform. Ironically, the recent criticism coincides with Pride Month and with the series being popular amongst the LGBTQ community, a new conversation surrounding queer representation in the media industry. See what fans had to say about the streaming platform below:
https://twitter.com/SharpenYerSword/status/1797590323482566812
https://twitter.com/LavallaisPics/status/1797720954464014411
https://twitter.com/pyrategirl/status/1797690907229409607
https://twitter.com/dollnormal/status/1797702812710875477
