A former Netflix executive sued the streaming giant, claiming he lost his $1.1 million-a-year job after revealing during a workplace trust exercise that he had received medically prescribed ketamine therapy for depression, reported New York Post. Kevin Baillie, who served as vice president and head of Creative at Eyeline Studios, alleged the company investigated his comments and later dismissed him, with the lawsuit claiming his ketamine treatment played a role in the decision.
Baillie filed the lawsuit after his employment ended in April 2026. According to the complaint, he had disclosed during a company retreat that he underwent ketamine therapy under medical supervision following the death of his mother, reported New York Post. He said that the treatment was legal, doctor-prescribed and intended to help him manage clinical depression.
The lawsuit says Baillie had a long career in the visual effects industry before joining Netflix. His work includes projects in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Harry Potter” film franchises.
Why Kevin Baillie sued Netflix?
According to the lawsuit, Baillie attended a company retreat at Sendero Ranch, a property owned by Netflix in Northern California, in January 2026. During what the complaint described as a “Vulnerability-Trust exercise,” employees were encouraged to openly discuss personal experiences to build stronger relationships with colleagues, reported New York Post.
Baillie says he shared that he had received ketamine therapy during October and November 2022 at a medical clinic in Santa Barbara, according to New York Post report. He told colleagues the treatment was prescribed by doctors after he developed clinical depression following his mother’s death.
The lawsuit alleged Netflix later launched an internal investigation into his comments. According to the complaint, a company investigator questioned him in March 2026 about the ketamine treatment “in a manner suggesting suspicion of recreational drug use,” reported New York Post.
Baillie claimed the company’s attorney later confirmed that “the ketamine therapy issue has factored into the termination.” He said that the company wrongly treated medically supervised therapy as misconduct and ultimately denied him severance benefits that could have been worth up to one year’s salary, reported New York Post.
Netflix has not issued an official public statement yet regarding the allegations outlined in the lawsuit. The claims represent Baillie’s version of incidents, and the allegations have not been tested in court. Financial Express Digital has contacted Netflix for their comment and this story will be updated with more details upon receiving their response.
Baillie said that investigators questioned him about profanity and alcohol consumption during the retreat. According to the lawsuit, one of his earlier performance reviews advised him to “drop one or two less f-bombs but don’t stop entirely,” reported New York Post.
The lawsuit also described an incident in which Baillie drank a Guinness while standing on his head after colleagues asked him to demonstrate a trick he had learned years earlier. “His colleague immediately asked for a demonstration,” the complaint stated, reported New York Post. “Rather than withhold the openness that the session had encouraged, he performed the trick,” it added.
Baillie further alleged that alcohol consumption was common during company events. According to the lawsuit, Eyeline Studios CEO Jeff Shapiro purchased beer during group outings and shared it with employees, reported New York Post. The complaint also alleged Shapiro kept a personal bar in his office and occasionally served alcohol to Baillie, including after a successful meeting with Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos.
The lawsuit stated that Netflix encouraged an informal workplace culture but later used aspects of that same culture while investigating Baillie’s conduct, reported New York Post.
Baillie is seeking a jury trial along with compensatory damages, lost wages, damages for emotional distress and punitive damages. The case now heads to court, where Netflix will have an opportunity to respond to the allegations. A judge or jury will ultimately determine whether the company’s actions violated employment law.
Who is Kevin Baillie?
Baillie is a veteran visual effects professional with over 20 years of experience in the film and entertainment industry. According to his LinkedIn profile, he currently works as a Visual Effects Supervisor at Electric Sheep Productions and is also a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Visual Effects Society. He has also been a member of the PEF Community since 2023, where he focuses on generative AI workflows and visual effects.
Before the legal dispute with Netflix, Baillie held senior leadership roles at Eyeline Studios, Netflix’s visual effects division. He served as vice president and head of Creative from September 2024 to June 2025 before becoming vice president and head of Studio, a position he held until March 2026.
According to his LinkedIn profile, he worked with creative, production and stage teams while partnering with filmmakers worldwide to develop new visual effects technologies and production workflows. Earlier in his career, Baillie contributed to several major Hollywood productions, including the “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Harry Potter” film franchises.