US3 min(s) read
Published 08:53 28 Jul 2026 GMT
A high-earning Netflix executive was relieved of his duties earlier this year, following a confession that he made at a company retreat.
Kevin Baillie made a name for himself over the years after being part of visual effects teams that covered Hollywood blockbusters such as the Harry Potter and Pirates of the Caribbean franchises.
As the former vice president and head of creative at Eyeline Studios, it was reported that Baillie went off the rails after being fired by Netflix, which owns his company.
The comments were made during an exercise at the retreat, with the lawsuit claiming the admission ultimately cost him his $1.1 million-per-year job.
However, Baillie has hit back at claims and filed a lawsuit against the company, providing more context around his dismissal.
Back in January this year, Baillie's company held a retreat at the exclusive Sendero Ranch, a Northern California property owned by Netflix.
His former employer, Eyeline Studios, is a visual effects and virtual production company that was bought by Netflix in 2022.
During a "vulnerability and trust" exercise with colleagues, he and others were encouraged to share past issues and experiences with the group, but Baillie's confession would land him in a heap of trouble.
Baillie said during the trust exercise that he once took medically prescribed ketamine, with his lawsuit later detailing that he took the drug at a medical retreat in Santa Barbara.
It said that he was seeking treatment for depression following the death of his mother, as his lawsuit claims that he opened up about why he underwent the treatment, while colleagues also shared personal experiences during the retreat.
But for the vice president, the move would cost him his job, as Netflix would later investigate his comments, as the lawsuit claims an investigator highlighted the issue in March.
They said it was "in a manner suggesting suspicion of recreational drug use," and by April, Baillie was fired.
His lawsuit against the company read that the company's attorney confirmed that "the ketamine therapy issue has factored into the termination."
Additionally, his firing cost him up to a year's worth of severance pay, as per the court filing.
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As part of the lawsuit against Netflix, it details that investigators looked at allegations around workplace profanity and alcohol consumption during such company events.
Baillie says that management spoke to him about his swearing in a previous performance review, with the filing saying that reviewers said he should "drop one or two less f-bombs but don’t stop entirely."
He claimed that this showed that they accepted casual profanity.
The suit also speaks of an incident at the same retreat in January, where he drank Guinness while standing on his head, which one employee asked he demonstrate immediately.
“His colleague immediately asked for a demonstration, rather than withhold the openness that the session had encouraged, he performed the trick,” the filing reads.
He further claimed that Eyeline Studios CEO Jeff Shapiro encouraged a workplace culture that encouraged alcohol and company events.
In fact, it claims that "Shapiro purchased beer at a corner store and brought it into the vehicle for the group to share," during two company outings.
Baillie used this as an example of alcohol featuring prominently at work events.
