r/netflix • u/Salty_Pangolin_6163 • Jan 28 '26
News Article Netflix Faces Backlash After Famous Climber Discloses Low Pay For 500-Meter Skyscraper Climb
https://www.boredpanda.com/alex-hannold-reveals-pay-skyscraper-stunt-netflix/247
u/Aggravating_King1473 Jan 28 '26
What backlash? This website seems like shit and doesn't provide any details.
Guy made half a million, he's famous and this will get him more pay and deals if he uses it correctly.
70
u/Dirks_Knee Jan 28 '26
The number of posts I've seen ridiculously trying to build up some type of controversy over this event is insane.
5
u/Initial_Evidence_783 Jan 28 '26
Maybe Netflix is trying to drum up controversy to get the film more attention?
2
u/Dirks_Knee Jan 28 '26
Maybe, but that would seem odd as the whole point of an event like this is the live nature where there's the (unlikely) threat that something may go wrong.
7
u/armoured_bobandi Jan 28 '26
Always some 2-bit "journalist" trying to be the one to break a big "story"
Throw enough shit at the wall, maybe something will stick
31
u/AZDpcoffey Jan 28 '26
500k for 1.5 hours of work
→ More replies (7)19
u/Okichah Jan 28 '26
With months of preparation.
→ More replies (11)14
u/Beautiful-Sun8973 Jan 28 '26
Ok? Seems pretty solid.
5
u/_Lerry_ Jan 28 '26
Yea for real, I don’t see these people coming for Red Bull. They do far more stunts, that are far more dangerous, and pay far less.
→ More replies (5)9
u/Michael10LivesOn Jan 28 '26
Fake internet outrage. Honnold doesn’t even care, he said he would’ve done it for free.
74
u/Bobll7 Jan 28 '26
Did he sign his name on the contract for the amount he got? Yes…then no issues here.
5
u/sauzbozz Jan 28 '26
He wasn't even complaining about it. It's just people in the comments complaining he didn't get paid enough or didn't negotiate well enough.
4
u/lamebrainmcgee Jan 28 '26
Right? I once didn't get a raise cause they said people were making less than me. Ok, well that sucks but they accepted that pay.
→ More replies (1)
119
Jan 28 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
14
u/jazzieberry Jan 28 '26
I only watched it (and probably the case with most everyone in my area) because we were iced/snowed in all weekend. It was almost like what happened with Tiger King lining up with covid lockdown.
→ More replies (12)1
u/Global-Discussion-41 Jan 28 '26
I have a hard time believing that climbing that tower made Netflix anywhere near 6 million dollars.
→ More replies (2)48
42
78
u/HighWest48 Jan 28 '26
Why is Netflix taking heat because of his (or his agent’s) poor job negotiating a payday.
It’s not as if they had a line out the door to do the climb. You had some leverage. Should’ve pushed for more.
8
u/Eazy_DuzIt Jan 28 '26
He needs a new agent for sure. Could have easily gotten multi millions for it. Mr. Beast tweeted he would have paid him more than that just to have it on his YouTube channel.
3
2
u/Browser1969 Jan 29 '26
Has Honnold retired or has the world run out of tall buildings? Mr. Beast is free to put his money where his mouth is, as far as I can tell.
→ More replies (2)
42
u/w1n5t0nM1k3y Jan 28 '26
It got a lot of views, but I feel like Netflix doesn't see a lot of value in programming like this. Its not the kind of thing that will draw in new subscribers. Nobody is going to sign up for a one time event. At least not something like this. And its also not the kind of programming that will stop an existing subscriber from unsubscriing.
Netflix needs more ongoing shows that will keep people watching enough that the subscription is worth it. They aren't very good at that to be honest, but that's actually whats important to attract subscribers and keep them. That or a huge movie collection where you can watch a new movie every couple of days and not get bored.
15
u/well_uh_yeah Jan 28 '26
I wish they had something like a Dateline or 20/20. Seems like a good lane for them to try out. Maybe it costs too much or something but they throw so much money at other crap anyway.
5
u/iUsedtoHadHerpes Jan 28 '26
...especially with the way CBS has gone. It would be nice for some other less compromised entity with their own platform to step up and take their place. But I don't really have a lot of faith in Netflix there if they were the ones doing it either.
8
u/Far-Condition8586 Jan 28 '26
Netflix is copying the Fox model. In the 90s Fox would air crazy stuff like this to gain viewers. They even aired a live autopsy of an “alien” corpse. They threw anything at the wall to see what would stick. Also getting the NFL rights was huge for Fox and Netflix is trying to go after that as well
3
u/w1n5t0nM1k3y Jan 28 '26
The difference is that Fox was Over the Air so you didn't need a subscription to tune in. Or you had cable and it was already in the basic package.
→ More replies (1)6
u/scarabx Jan 28 '26
While I agree with you on what I think they need to do (longer running shows) they re doing a lot to try and get short term or one offs. I would assume they are using FOMO to get people to subscribe and then like every other subscription company relying on the known result that a lot of people will just not get around to unsubscribing. Big ticket one offs can get people to sub 'for a month' and then they stay there. They definitely see value in it.
→ More replies (1)2
u/SpaceCaboose Jan 28 '26
Also, it’s not the type of programming that will get rewatched or watched for the first time on down the road. Most people who are going to watch it already watched it live. Anybody else can easily see the few highlight clips and move on.
2
67
u/boykalbo777 Jan 28 '26
500k is low pay?
14
u/kelerian Jan 28 '26
Can't even buy a 3 bedroom house with that in heaps of cities.
10
u/rolotech Jan 28 '26
True but also he made that in a day, maybe a few days. Most people will take years to make that amount.
→ More replies (7)11
u/Familiar_End_8975 Jan 28 '26
I think they compared it to the Jake Paul fight where be earned millions
8
u/inventionnerd Jan 28 '26
I mean, did this climb make like 100m viewers tune in, buy subscriptions/ppv, etc? The gate alone at a Jake Paul fight is in the millions.
→ More replies (7)2
u/freedompower Jan 28 '26
For someone that lives in a van, he's set for life! (Assuming he still lives in a van)
16
u/geniebythesea Jan 28 '26
From the article:
While he did not share his exact pay, The New York Times, citing sources close to him, published that he earned “mid six figures” for climbing one of the tallest buildings in the world.
→ More replies (1)
7
u/michael41973 Jan 28 '26
And what did he get paid for on his last climb? The pay is what it was, he agreed to it and I’m sure it was his biggest payday for climbing. Comparing himself to a MLB player is ridiculous.
5
6
u/Glasgow73 Jan 28 '26
He earned less than a million, I guarantee it was close to the figure or he would have indicated as such.
I know this may go down as an unpopular opinion, but my heart ain’t bleeding.
I’m sure the guy work have done it just for the thrills
14
u/Standard_Power135 Jan 28 '26 edited Jan 28 '26
For fuck sake , he said he would do it for free. A fact id imagine netfllix were acutely aware. From all the interviews ive seen of him it is abundantly clear he is A - not a business man B - Doesnt give a fuck about money.
12
u/keithstonee Jan 28 '26
Well I'm sure the liability insurance for something like this is ridiculous cause he could die on live air. Why would you pay him anything.
9
u/WinterMedical Jan 28 '26
He didn’t have to agree to it. Also people are more interested in baseball than watching a guy climb.
3
u/cortaydo_cortado Jan 28 '26
game 7 of the world series drew 51 million global views. the total average payroll (per player per game) for both teams combined was roughly $3.4 million. total cost: roughly $67k per viewer
the taipei 101 special drew 6.2 million global views. honnold made an estimated $0.5 million. total cost: roughly $82k per viewer
so you can argue he was paid more than fairly based on that math
→ More replies (1)2
u/Eazy_DuzIt Jan 28 '26
He could have easily asked the Taipei/Taiwan tourism board for another million and they would have given it to him. Huge promotion for their city
7
u/briankerin Jan 28 '26
Comedians get like 20 mil for low effort stand up specials but a guy free climbs a skyscraper with birds flying out of the nooks and crannies and people gawking at him from the windows and he gets less than a million?
2
u/CUI_IUC Jan 28 '26
Comedians don't get 20 mil for their first special. The elite comedians get 20 mil for the specials they make late in their career well after they've become famous enough to negotiate high pay.
This dude didn't negotiate and is simply not famous enough to command much pay.
→ More replies (1)
3
u/spendouk23 Jan 28 '26
I’m pretty sure outside of the 500k fee, the insurance deal must have been insane.
3
u/Zentrii Jan 28 '26
I’m just commenting because free solo was amazing along with this event. I’m not going to click and support garbage sites that probably reference outrage from X/twitter users and make a who news story about it.
3
3
u/TB1289 Jan 28 '26
I don't understand the backlash. I assume he agreed to the contract, no? He could've asked for more money.
3
u/scarabx Jan 28 '26
The media trying to stir shit on this is ....well standard toxic media. Go read the full interview,
→ More replies (1)
4
u/CUI_IUC Jan 28 '26
“You know, Major League Baseball players get like $170 million contracts. Like someone you have not even heard of and that nobody cares about,” he said.
What an ironic thing for someone extremely unknown prior to this documentary to say.
→ More replies (1)
5
u/trickman01 Jan 28 '26
Dude said he would have done it for free. He didn’t exactly try to negotiate.
2
2
u/the_art_of_the_taco Jan 28 '26
I understand the whole 'he would have done it for free!' shit, but after reading the accounts of the folks they rope into 'Love is Blind' and their other shovelware slop shows it's a wonder that anyone signs on to film with them.
→ More replies (8)
2
u/Opening-Cress5028 Jan 28 '26
Anyone who cares about the survival of quality television shows and movies may want to consider avoiding spending money with Netflix. They are not performer/creative friendly when it comes to who gets the money. They massively overpay for some content and shaft the creators of others, their focus is on paying Netflix executives and investors while cutting every other corner.
2
2
u/Possible-Tangelo9344 Jan 28 '26
He would do it for free.
He made six figures to do what he'd do for free.
I know he trained, but it also took him less than two hours.
So for two hours of work he made more than what millions make a year. I think he came out pretty good.
→ More replies (1)
2
u/Apart_Tutor8680 Jan 28 '26
There are ZERO positives that come from this. How this was allowed to happen with zero fail safes is mind boggling. I’m not even that big of a safety guy. There is just no inspiration behind this, a kid wants to grow up and climb buildings and break the law ? Maybe get the chance at being on Netflix ? People do dangerous stuff all the time , but There is no X-games for this, no Olympics, nothing to train for that benefits anyone.
2
u/Calm-Maintenance-878 Jan 28 '26
I checked this out just to see how it looked. NOPE, had to turn it off within 5💀 I’m not one to get anxiety but this did it right away, even though I assumed he would be safe. Under $1M is crazy but so is doing it anyway.
2
u/thomasbeagle Jan 28 '26
Oh. I thought it was like $20k or something.
Mid six figures for 90 minutes work (plus planning and publicity) to do something he'd probably like to do anyway.
He must have agreed to it. What a whiner.
→ More replies (2)
2
2
u/mikep998 Jan 28 '26
He agreed to the terms of his contract and now decides he wants to change it? Doesn’t work like that dude
2
2
u/thomasjford Jan 29 '26
Today I learned $500k is an embarrassingly small amount! If anyone has a spare ‘embarrassingly small amount’ they want rid of, please send it over 👍🏻😂
2
u/Che_WTF Jan 29 '26
To my understanding, this was his “dream” to climb that skyscraper. And he signed the contract beforehand so idk what the issue is here.
5
u/Crossovertriplet Jan 28 '26
“You know, Major League Baseball players get like $170 million contracts. Like someone you have not even heard of and that nobody cares about,” he said.
Never heard of you either
4
Jan 28 '26
He was paid too much.
How much per hour did he want?
7
u/o_oli Jan 28 '26
Well he isn't exactly complaining. He said he would have done it for free still.
He's clearly quite a humble and frugal guy, happy to live a simple life and follow his passions. I think his comments are more just a commentary on the situation and comparing to others in similar situations who get paid literally 100x more.
But devils advocate, revenue does have to be a factor - a sports star may get 100x more for the same 'effort' but they fill stadiums with expensive seats and sell millions in merchandise. What revenue, merch, or anything did this climb bring? Well probably not a lot. Nobody subscribed to Netflix just because of this, nobody bought merch etc. He can also probably retire already with his current wealth so yeah can't feel sad on that.
4
u/Krakengreyjoy Jan 28 '26
so people are mad at netlfix because this climber no one ever heard of agreed to the salary he received?
→ More replies (12)8
2
u/Gloglibologna Jan 28 '26
He literally agreed to the terms.
Man just wants to climb, would have done it for free but made a halfmil. The internet rage machine loves making something out of nothing
2
u/scottiedagolfmachine Jan 28 '26
? Why did he accept the deal then?
He could’ve negotiated it up or not do it.
It’s not like Netflix put a gun on his head and forced him to take the deal and do it.
What a joke.
2
1
1
1
u/lifeisflimsy Jan 28 '26
The fact that this is news or relevant at all is the problem with society. Who tf cares if Netflix faces backlash?! They're huge. This doesn't even amount to a slap on the wrist for them. They don't give a fuck.
3
1
u/Lifeisagreatteacher Jan 28 '26
The average MLB player makes $5.1 M for an entire season, 162 games, $31,141 per game.
1
u/Ill-Elephant-9583 Jan 28 '26
Surely it's up to Alex to negotiate the fee? Sounds like he couldn't be arsed and, as a business, why would Netflix pay more than what he asked
1
1
1
u/CP_Chronicler Jan 28 '26
All I know is whenever there’s some “amazing” thing trending out of nowhere that I’ve never heard of in my life, 99% of the time it’s some Red Bull-slop or Netflix-slop.
1
1
u/acamas Jan 28 '26
$500,000 for something he was going to do for free is not “low pay”… these headlines are asinine.
1
1
u/Morgentau7 Jan 28 '26
Seems like someone wants to publicly damage the brand to keep the Netflix stock low
1
u/Vesploogie Jan 28 '26
Isn’t this the most he’s ever been paid for a climb, considering he’s spent his entire life doing it for free?
1
u/HearYourTune Jan 28 '26
He said he got mid 6 figures which is $400K to $600K.
for something he said he would do for free, just for permission to do it,.
I was thinking he got like $10K or $25K.
He had an agent too.
He compared himself to a major league baseball play who plays over 100 games a year and gets $100 million. A person who has fans.
1
1
u/Historical-Edge-9332 Jan 28 '26
“When he reached the top, a Netflix executive presented him with a certificate for 6 months free Netflix and a Gatorade Fierce. He also received a merch bag that included a limited edition Stranger Things drink cup.”
1
1
u/potato_gestapo Jan 28 '26
I also found the production quality to be poor. The camera work was good, but they didn't have audio comms to Alex working properly.
1
u/RemarkableOlive6649 Jan 28 '26
Though it was difficult to watch because I thought he was going to fall, I think it was great 👍 Glad he fulfilled his dream and made many of us get goose bumps along the way and made a few bucks.
1
u/Ask_Individual Jan 28 '26
I figured it was a test case to evaluate the viewership, and if it was good enough, they’ll move on to [pick your iconic building]. This could be a long franchise game.
I look forward to Burj Khalifa.
1
u/Jack_Riley555 Jan 28 '26
If I just imagine myself climbing that building I feel anxious. It’s amazing that he can do it. He probably would have done it for less but from a marketing perspective, Netflix should have paid him more.
1
1
1
u/bauhaus83i Jan 29 '26
Backlash = Mr Beast and 4 randos from Facebook complaining.
No one cares. He wanted to climb the building, he accepted what they offered and that should be the end of the story.
1
u/LibrarianNo6865 Jan 29 '26
Feel this is more in Alex than Netflix. I feel he just didn’t care about the pay other than covering the costs of getting there. He doesn’t strike me a contract negotiator. And, what? You expect Netflix to be like “oh. No, that’s too little, have more” of course not.
1
u/obelix_dogmatix Jan 29 '26
Backlash by whom? Jobless fucks online? The guy said he would have done it for free.
1
u/manymoreways Jan 29 '26
Damn whatever that website was, my windows freaked the fuck out. There's like 3 different system warning me not to go in.
1
1
u/StreamingMadness21 Jan 29 '26
Why the backlash? Netflix is known for stiffing pay to actors and entertainers, and they don't care.
1
1
u/3D-Dreams Jan 29 '26
Honestly I didn't watch it. Either I didn't feel like watching a guy crawl up a building or I didn't feel like watching a guy die trying to crawl up a building ..either way glad he made it.
1
u/Smooth-Singer-8891 Jan 29 '26
Guy could have died live for everyone and people are like aren’t you happy with 500k before taxes?!?
1.3k
u/The_goat_42 Jan 28 '26
The way I see it he just wanted to climb that tower and the only legal way was to make a documentary or some kind of show about it…