Netflix breaks silence on controversial 'neck injury' post published on Charlie Kirk death anniversary

An unfortunately timed promotional post from Netflix on Wednesday has drawn the ire of some subscribers, forcing the streaming service to break its silence following a controversial caption.

It was a year since far-right political commentator Charlie Kirk was assassinated this week, and while many on social media were seemingly celebrating the 'Kirkiversary', plenty of others are still furious that his death is being made light of.

That anger only seemed to accelerate when Netflix shared a post on X promoting the release of its newest series, The Gentlemen, where the caption was misconstrued as a reference to the manner of Kirk's death by some on both sides.

The caption described how lead character Eddie Horniman (Theo James) 'nearly did himself a neck injury', with two images showing Horniman turning his head to look at love interest Susie Glass (Kaya Scodelario) while marrying another woman.

People perceive Netflix post as a Charlie Kirk joke

What would have been a regular post on any other day quickly became a potential publicity nightmare for Netflix, as Kirk notably died after being shot in the neck — a fact that many have been reminded of over the past 12 months through countless jokes online.

One quoted post, garnering over 2.8 million views and 170,000 likes, declared that the official Netflix account was 'Kirkposting', denoting it to be a "complete cultural victory," yet others didn't see it in the same light.

Controversial far right figure Matt Walsh branded Netflix 'despicable' after deeming it to be "way too much of a coincidence" that it was posted 'today of all days', arguing that it was "clear what was intended."

Some users have even gone as far to cancel their subscriptions over the post, with one user declaring that he "arrived home to learn my wife canceled our 13-year Netflix subscription over this. What a sick post, can't believe it's still up."

Netflix responds to complaints with clarification

Not only does the post remain up on the Netflix UK & Ireland account, but the streaming service has also denounced any claims that the post had anything to do with Charlie Kirk's death.

Speaking to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for Netflix outlined: "This post directly references a plot point from our U.K. series, 'The Gentlemen', which launched its second season on Sept. 3.

"Suggestions that it has any link to sensitive real world events are inaccurate and ludicrous," the spokesperson continued.

It's highly likely that this post was shared without the consideration of its potential connection to Charlie Kirk's death, and the timing of it landing on his anniversary is unfortunate but completely unrelated.