E-Paper
Netflix exec fired from $1.1 million job after confessing to medical ketamine use
A Netflix executive is suing the company for firing him after he admitted to using medically prescribed ketamine during a “trust exercise”.
A Netflix executive is suing the company for firing him after he admitted to using medically prescribed ketamine during a “trust exercise”. Kevin Baillie used to serve as vice president and head of creative at Eyeline Studios, Netflix's in-house production technology, visual effects (VFX), and virtual production studio. He was fired in April 2026 and is now suing the streaming giant.
A copy of his lawsuit was seen by The New York Post. According to the suit, Baillie says he sought treatment for clinical depression after the death of his mother. As part of the treatment, he took ketamine under medical supervision in October and November of 2022 at a Santa Barbara clinic.
The ‘trust exercise’
During a "Vulnerability-Trust" exercise at a company retreat held at Sendero Ranch, a Northern California property owned by Netflix, in January 2026, Baillie told colleagues that he had undergone the treatment.
The suit says Baillie explained why he had taken the drug. However, Netflix later investigated the disclosure.
On March 18, 2026, a company investigator questioned him about the incident "in a manner suggesting suspicion of recreational drug use," according to the lawsuit.
(Also read: What is Ketamine? 'Fatal’ depression drug found in Matthew Perry’s body raises eyebrows)
The firing
Netflix fired Kevin Baillie in April this year. The company’s attorney confirmed that “the ketamine therapy issue has factored into the termination,” his lawsuit claims. It also suggests that Baillie was denied up to a year of severance pay.
According to the lawsuit, the company's investigation centred on allegations of profanity and drinking. Baillie says he had previously been told during a performance review to "drop one or two less f-bombs but don't stop entirely."
The suit also describes another incident from the same retreat. During a conversation prompted by the trust exercise, Baillie shared that he had learned to drink a Guinness while standing on his head from his former father-in-law. It says a colleague immediately asked him to demonstrate the trick, and, "rather than withhold the openness that the session had encouraged, he performed the trick."
The fired Netflix executive is now asking for a jury trial, compensatory damages, lost wages, damages for emotional distress, and punitive damages.
