There’s a fine line between a charming, cheeky social media presence and simply being unprofessional and unwilling to own up to mistakes. Companies like Ryanair and Wendy’s toe this tightrope excellently, and their slightly insulting social media accounts chime nicely with what their brands represent. But when it goes wrong, it goes terribly wrong, as shown by the latest Netflix tweet about the Love is Blind reunion livestream, well, not going live.
Unlike the ultra-cheap airline and the fast food chain famed for its iconic frosties, Netflix is supposed to be a user-first, slick tech operation. So, making a joke about the fact the Love is Blind reunion livestream was a complete technical failure, only running 75 minutes after it was supposed to go live (and only for certain U.S. audiences), isn’t the best look for the streaming giant. When you also take into account the ethical issues around the hit dating show, this is looking increasingly like a real issue for Netflix.
Most Twitter users were happy to let the streaming service know how they felt about this attempt at making light of their error, with almost all the replies to the tweet being negative.
There was no reason given for the technical delay, but in a statement (that actually did get the tone right) viewers were given an apology. This took place at roughly 2.30am in the U.K., around an hour and a half after the show was due to begin, frustrating audiences on the eastern side of the Atlantic who’d stayed up to watch.
Netflix filmed the show instead, and released it later that day. While this might seem like a decent compromise, it meant that social media was already flooded with spoilers, as some had been able to watch the show and comment on it. Those who’d planned to wake up and indulge in the reunion were left without any content, too.
The Netflix statement that wasn’t an attempt at a joke read:
“To everyone who stayed up late, woke up early, gave up their Sunday afternoon… we are incredibly sorry that the Love is Blind Live Reunion did not turn out as we had planned.We’re filming it now and we’ll have it on Netflix as soon as humanly possible. Again, thank you and sorry.”
Love is Blind host Vanessa Lachey, who many fans have their own issues with, posted a live video on Instagram with the caption “Apparently we broke the internet,” which was of scant consolation to viewers who’d stayed up to watch.
There is every chance Netflix could have gotten away with this huge mistake if it had produced a decent bit of content, but users who did bother to wait until the show was up were left feeling underwhelmed.
On the lighter side of things, congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez got in on the action, jokingly calling for some help from a previous contestant on the show.
Overall, this has been a bit of a disaster for the streaming giant, especially as it has recently made noises about getting into more live content — most notably broadcasting the Screen Actor’s Guild Awards, which it’s set to do in 2024. Maybe in the future, it should stick to streaming, or at least learn to apologize correctly.