A fan of The OA has gone on hunger strike outside Netflix’s headquarters in Hollywood as a protest against the cancellation of its sci-fi mystery series.
The OA, which stars Brit Marling and Jason Isaacs, was axed by the streaming giant earlier this month after two seasons, leading to a mass social media campaign that uses the hashtag “#SaveTheOA”, and fans protesting outside Netflix HQ on Sunset Boulevard.
One of those fans is Emperial Young, 35, who claims that she hasn’t eaten since 16 August and plans to hunger strike until the network renews the show.
“Entertainment is food for the human soul and Netflix’s algorithm isn’t measuring that right now,” Young, who is currently unemployed, told Insider during an organised protest event.
“And by not taking physical food, I’m saying that this show is more important food to me than actual food.”
“While it looks like I’m protesting a TV cancellation on the surface, I am protesting the capitalist forces that killed the show, general lack of societal support resources, and to raise awareness about properly teaching AI,” Young wrote on Twitter.
“The cancellation is a lens for these topics. Which doesn’t mean I’m not trying to save the show. I definitely, definitely am! But that’s not all I’m doing.”
Speaking about the cancellation of another of her favourite shows, Dark Matter on Space Channel, Young added: “This is just one step too far. I can’t lose The OA, too. I’ve had it. This is the hill I’ll die on.”
A Facebook page created for fans wanting to join Young, which she herself does not endorse, has been flagged for removal as a violation of the social media platform’s terms of use. Young has also taken to Twitter to discourage others from hunger-striking.
On how long she plans to strike for, Young told IndieWire: “I’ll go as long as I have to. Gandhi did a lot of fasts, the longest he did was 21 days, but most of his were five-six days.
"I’m going to see how far I can go.”
