LOS GATOS, Calif., July 28 (San Francisco News Online) — A lawsuit filed by former Netflix executive Kevin Baillie says the company fired him after he disclosed medically supervised ketamine treatment during a workplace retreat — a dispute that could carry major financial stakes for both the worker and Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX).
The complaint says Baillie earned about $1.1 million a year as vice president and head of creative at Netflix’s Eyeline Studios. He says he was fired in April 2026 and denied severance worth up to a year of salary. In the lawsuit, he seeks a jury trial and damages for lost wages, emotional distress, compensatory damages and punitive damages.
What Baillie says happened
According to the complaint, Baillie received medically supervised ketamine treatment at a Santa Barbara clinic in October and November 2022. He says the treatment was for clinical depression after his mother died.
Baillie alleges that he later brought up that treatment during a January 2026 company retreat at Sendero Ranch, which the complaint describes as a Netflix-owned property in Northern California. The filing calls the activity a “vulnerability-trust exercise,” a type of retreat session meant to encourage personal sharing.
The complaint says Netflix later investigated what Baillie said.
Why the investigation matters
The lawsuit says a Netflix investigator questioned Baillie on March 18, 2026, “in a manner suggesting suspicion of recreational drug use.” It also says a company attorney later confirmed that “the ketamine therapy issue has factored into the termination.”
That matters because the dispute is not just about one executive’s firing. It also raises broader questions about how employers handle mental health disclosures, how much personal information workers should share in company exercises, and whether a medical disclosure can affect job security or severance.
What ketamine therapy is
Ketamine is a prescription drug used in medicine, and some clinics provide it under supervision for certain mental health conditions, including depression. Baillie says his treatment was medically supervised, which is why the complaint treats it differently from recreational drug use.
That distinction is central to the lawsuit’s claim that Netflix misread, or improperly used, the disclosure in deciding to fire him.
Why the case is a business issue
For workers, the case is about whether a company retreat can become a place where private medical history is later judged against an employee.
For investors, it is about legal risk, reputational risk and possible severance costs at a public company. If Baillie’s claim is proven, the alleged loss of a seven-figure job and denied severance could become a costly employment dispute for Netflix.
One other detail in the complaint
The filing also includes a separate retreat anecdote, saying Baillie drank a Guinness while standing on his head after colleagues asked him to demonstrate the trick.
That detail is not the core of the case. The main issue is whether Baillie’s disclosure of medically supervised ketamine treatment led to his firing and loss of severance.
