Fear and loathing are running high as Hollywood processes Thursday’s shock firing of Bela Bajaria from her post as Netflix chief content officer.Yes, the company that popularized the “Keeper Test” is known for abrupt exits. But despite Netflix’s recent stock struggles, many considered Bajaria too big to fail.Word of her ouster leaked before the executive had the chance to address most of her internal teams — an announcement dovetailed with news of her incoming replacement, the venerated film and TV executive Peter Rice. As the former general entertainment chairman of the Walt Disney Company, Rice’s bona fides are clear — “I wish I bought stock this morning,” one huge talent rep said about Netflix’s new hire — but it doesn’t explain how Bajaria fell out of favor so fast.One word that came up in nearly a dozen conversations with industry players this afternoon about Bajaria’s pink-slipping: “scapegoat.”Netflix is obviously against the ropes again, after slowing user engagement on the service rattled Wall Street investors and layoffs came this week as a sacrifice to the share price. But Bajaria’s dismissal makes it clear, according to the numerous sources we spoke with, that content is once again going to take it on…
Original source: https://variety.com/