A new Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) series about a closeted gay man entering the military is drawing criticism from the Pentagon, adding to the attacks on the streaming company over "woke" content that saw billionaire Elon Musk call for members to cancel their subscriptions.
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Pentagon Speaks Out
The new coming-of-age series "Boots" was released on Netflix on Oct. 9 and has touched a nerve with the Pentagon, which is led by former Fox News personality Pete Hegseth.
"Boots" tells the story of bullied teen Cameron, who joins the Marine Corps with his best friend, according to a Netflix summary. The series takes place in 1990, when openly gay military recruits were not allowed to join.
A Pentagon spokesperson told Entertainment Weekly that the Pentagon does not support the Netflix series, highlighting recent efforts by Hegseth and President Donald Trump to change the military.
"Under President Trump and Secretary Hegseth, the U.S. military is getting back to restoring the warrior ethos. Our standards across the board are elite, uniform and sex neutral because the weight of a rucksack or a human being doesn't care if you're a man, a woman, gay or straight," Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson told Entertainment Weekly.
Kingsley said that officials "will not compromise our standards to satisfy an ideological agenda, unlike Netflix whose leadership consistently produces and feeds woke garbage to their audience and children."
The series is based on the memoir "The Pink Marine," by former Marine Greg Cope White. The timeline was changed from 1979 in the book to 1990 in a possible move to put the timeline closer to the 1993 "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" military policy that made it illegal to be gay and a member of the military.
Since becoming Secretary of War, Hegseth has been criticized for anti-LGBTQ actions for the military.
Hegseth has tried to remove any transgender military members from their positions with a push to cut down on diversity and inclusion within the armed forces.
In June, Hegseth had a Navy ship renamed that previously honored gay rights activist and former Navy sailor Harvey Milk.
A recent gathering of top military officials in Virginia saw Hegseth vow to end "woke" culture in the military, with a focus on "male-level" fitness tests going forward.
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Can Show's Reception, Popularity Offset Pentagon Criticism?
The series ranked sixth among all English-language Netflix shows in its first week with 4.7 million views and 27.5 million hours watched for the eight-episode first season.
On IMDb, the series ranks third in popularity and has a 7.9 rating. On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has a 93% rating from critics and 88% rating from viewers.
The high ratings and popularity could suggest that viewers and critics don't feel the same way as the Pentagon and members of President Trump's administration.
Netflix remains one of the most popular streaming services worldwide, but in recent months faced potential subscriber exits due to criticism from the Pentagon and from billionaire Elon Musk.
Earlier this month, Musk told people to cancel Netflix, which led to "cancel Netflix" hitting its highest level of searches in the past 12 months according to Google Trends.
Musk shared several posts on social media platform X, which he owns and is the most followed person with over 225 million followers.
“Cancel Netflix for the health of your kids,” Musk tweeted.
The support to “cancel Netflix” by Musk comes after accounts shared a clip from animated Netflix original “Dead End: Paranormal Park.”
The show has a transgender character and also comes with a Y7 rating, with several accounts saying this means the show is targeted at children and pushing trans ideals on kids.
A report from Variety says the show ran for two seasons and was later cancelled in 2023, but all episodes remain available to stream on the platform.
Netflix could have seen a rush of cancellations by supporters and fans of Musk and by those who question what content the streamer is putting out for children.
With Netflix getting attacked by the Pentagon for a gay military series, the streamer could see more cancellations from fans of President Trump and from those against so-called "woke" content.
Netflix is set to report third-quarter financial results on Oct. 21. The company no longer provides subscriber figures, but it could be asked about churn and if it saw high cancellations in the current fourth quarter.
Netflix Stock Price Action
Netflix stock is up 1.34% to $1,199.45 on Friday versus a 52-week trading range of $736.23 to $1,341.15. Netflix stock is up 35.4% year-to-date in 2025.
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