A Netflix executive opened up at a ‘vulnerability and trust’ company retreat, and he claims it cost him his $1.1 million job

A former Netflix executive says a personal disclosure he made during a company retreat exercise ultimately cost him his $1.1 million-a-year job. According to VT, Kevin Baillie, former vice president and head of creative at Eyeline Studios, has filed a lawsuit against Netflix disputing the circumstances of his firing.

He spent years working behind the scenes on visual effects for blockbuster franchises like Harry Potter and Pirates of the Caribbean. His former company, originally known as Scanline VFX, was founded in Munich in 1989 and was acquired by Netflix in a deal that closed in early 2022. Netflix later merged Scanline with its Eyeline Studios brand in October 2025, consolidating its visual effects and virtual production operations under a single name.

This January, the company gathered its staff at Sendero Ranch, a secluded Netflix-owned property in Northern California, for a retreat centered on a “vulnerability and trust” exercise. Employees were reportedly encouraged to share personal experiences with the group as part of the activity.

What he shared, and what it allegedly cost him

During that session, Baillie says he opened up about a past round of ketamine treatment he received at a facility in Santa Barbara, telling colleagues he sought it out while grieving the loss of his mother. According to the filing, an investigator flagged the comments in March “in a manner suggesting suspicion of recreational drug use,” and Baillie was terminated the following month.

The lawsuit alleges that Netflix’s own attorney confirmed “the ketamine therapy issue has factored into the termination.” Per the court filing, he also lost out on roughly a year’s worth of severance as a result. Employment disputes tied to unexpected firings have surfaced online before, including an Alabama woman who says she was let go over a TikTok video while coworkers who did the same thing kept their jobs.

The Americans with Disabilities Act generally protects employees from termination based solely on lawful prescription drug use tied to a disability. The law does draw a clear line, though, between prescribed medical treatment and current illegal drug use, which is not protected. According to EEOC guidance, employers are permitted to ask employees whether medication might affect job performance and to request medical certification in some circumstances.

They must generally conduct an individualized assessment, though, rather than assume impairment based on the existence of a prescription alone. Beyond the ketamine disclosure, the suit points to other behavior that investigators reportedly dug into, including how much he swore around the office and how much drinking took place at company gatherings.

Baillie claims a prior performance review noted he should “drop one or two less f-bombs but don’t stop entirely,” which he says shows management tolerated casual swearing. That same retreat also included a moment where he chugged a beer while doing a headstand, something he says a coworker specifically requested he show off. “His colleague immediately asked for a demonstration, rather than withhold the openness that the session had encouraged, he performed the trick,” the filing states.

Baillie also points a finger at CEO Jeff Shapiro, alleging he was the one setting the tone for a boozy work culture, going as far as stopping to buy beer for the group to drink together on two separate company trips. Netflix has not publicly responded to the specific allegations in the lawsuit.