Netflix’s ‘13 Reasons Why’ Responsible For Hundreds of Child Suicides, alleges Class Action Lawsuit

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Netflix’s ‘13 Reasons Why Class’ Action Lawsuit Overview: 

• Who: John Herndon lodged a class action lawsuit against Netflix Inc. on behalf of his deceased daughter’s estate and her two younger brothers.
• Why: Plaintiffs allege Netflix ignored warnings that releasing its show ‘13 Reasons Why’ would endanger children. 
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in California Superior Court. 

Content warning: This story references suicide and self-harm.

Netflix’s show 13 Reasons Why caused hundreds of children to die by suicide and psychologically harmed vulnerable youths who viewed it, a new class action lawsuit alleges. 

The lead plaintiffs are John Herndon, father of a 16-year-old girl who died by suicide, the deceased girl’s estate, and her two younger brothers. Plaintiffs claim Netflix ignored warnings that the show — released in 2017 and surrounding a fictional teenage girl’s suicide — would lead to child suicides and psychological harm, and used an algorithm to gain the audience of vulnerable youths. 

“Even after empirical researchers repeatedly identified the profound human cost of Netflix’s decisions, Netflix still did not meaningfully warn about the dangers of its show, and did not moderate its algorithms to avoid targeting vulnerable children,” the class action lawsuit states. 

There was a 28.9 percent increase in child suicides during the month of the show’s original release, according to the class action lawsuit. 

The show is derived from author Jay Asher’s novel Thirteen Reasons Why, in which a fictitious teenage girl named Hannah Baker lists the 13 reasons why she is planning on ending her life. In Asher’s book, Baker dies by suicide after overdosing on pills, in the Netflix adaptation, however, Baker’s death is played out for viewers in a three-minute-long graphic scene involving self harm, according to the class action lawsuit. 

The Herndon’s claims Netflix removed the scene in 2019 only after years of backlash from members of the public who said it “glorified suicide.” 

“Only after hundreds of children died and after thousands were harmed did Netflix removed its most gratuitous scene of violent suicide, having never warned of the harm it could cause while targeting children directly with that content,” the class action lawsuit states.

Netflix Ignored the Advice of Professionals in Suicide Prevention When Airing ‘13 Reasons Why’

Netflix sought out the advice of Dr. Dan Reidenberg, executive director of the nonprofit suicide-prevention organization Suicide Awareness Voices of Education, around a month before the shows release. At that time Netflix refused the advice of Reinberg that it should cancel it, the class action lawsuit alleges. 

The Herndon’s are accusing Netflix of wrongful death, a failure to warn, and negligence. Plaintiffs are demanding a jury trial and seeking punitive damages, economic compensatory damages and/or non-economic compensatory damages.  

Netflix had a separate class action lawsuit filed against it earlier this month that alleged the company failed to register or pay dues that were required by state law. 

For help, call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at (800)273-8255 or visit the Suicide Prevention Lifeline website.

Do you believe Netflix was targeting vulnerable youth when it released the show 13 Reasons Why? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiffs are represented by Gregory Keenan and Andrew Grimm of the Digital Justice Foundation and Ryan Hamilton of Hamilton Law LLC. 

The 13 Reasons Why Class Action Lawsuit is Herndon et al v. Netflix Inc., Case No. 5:21-cv-06561, in the Superior Court of California for the County of Santa Clara Civil Division. 

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