LOS GATOS, Calif., July 28 (San Francisco News Online) — A former Netflix executive says the streaming company fired him after he disclosed medically supervised ketamine treatment during a company retreat exercise, setting up a lawsuit over a job he says paid about $1.1 million a year and a severance package he says could have been worth up to another year’s salary.
Kevin Baillie, who says he was vice president and head of creative at Netflix’s Eyeline Studios, alleges in a complaint that the disclosure happened during a January 2026 vulnerability-trust exercise at Sendero Ranch, a Netflix-owned property in Northern California. He says the treatment had taken place in October and November 2022 at a Santa Barbara clinic and was prescribed and supervised for clinical depression after his mother died.
What does Baillie say Netflix did?
Baillie says Netflix investigated the remarks after the retreat. The complaint says a Netflix investigator questioned him on March 18, 2026, in a way that suggested suspicion of recreational drug use. It also says a company attorney later told him that “the ketamine therapy issue has factored into the termination.”
Baillie says he was fired in April 2026 and denied severance pay. The lawsuit seeks a jury trial and asks for lost wages, emotional distress, compensatory damages and punitive damages.
Why does ketamine matter here?
Ketamine is a medication that can be used in medical settings, including for some depression treatments, when prescribed and monitored by clinicians. In Baillie’s account, the issue is not that he used an illegal drug at work, but that a lawful medical treatment he disclosed in a trust-building setting became part of the reason he lost his job.
That is why the case could matter beyond one executive. For workers, it raises questions about what happens when personal health information is shared in employer-run exercises. For investors, it is another example of the legal and reputational risks that can come with employment disputes at a public company like Netflix, Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX).
What else is in the complaint?
The complaint also includes an allegation about a separate retreat moment. It says Baillie drank a Guinness while standing on his head after colleagues asked him to demonstrate the trick.
The filing does not say the alleged drinking incident alone led to his firing. Instead, Baillie says the ketamine disclosure was part of what cost him his job and his severance.
Has Netflix responded?
The materials available for this report do not show a public response from Netflix.
What is the broader takeaway?
At its core, this is a workplace case about trust, medical privacy and the consequences of disclosures inside a company culture exercise. It also shows the financial stakes of executive departures: a seven-figure salary, a disputed severance package and a lawsuit that could add legal costs and internal scrutiny for a major public company.
