Why is Elon Musk going to war with Netflix over a children's cartoon show?

The world's richest man, Elon Musk, has urged his quarter of a billion followers on X to boycott Netflix over what he describes as its "woke bias" and promotion of LGBTQ+ storylines.

Musk, a multibillionaire worth a reported $500bn, has used his social media platform repeatedly over the past few days to attack the streaming service over its show Dead End: Paranormal Park, in which a character called Barney claims to be transgender.

The animated show was cancelled in 2023 after two seasons

In a post on his X platform, Musk said "Cancel Netflix for the health of your kids." while reposting a meme showing Netflix as a Trojan horse being welcomed into a castle marked as 'your kids'.

The row erupted on Tuesday when Musk posted "this is not ok" while reposting rightwing activist account Libs of TikTok's clip of the series.

It's not the first time Musk has become obsessed with transgender issues and representation. He's famously fallen out with his daughter Vivian Wilson after she transitioned. He subsequently described her medical treatment as a "sterlization."

However, before the family feud, as recently as 2020 he expressed his approval saying 'I absolutely support trans, but all these pronouns are an aesthetic nightmare.

Musk's calls come amid an ongoing battle over free speech in United States following the cancellation and return to the airwaves of Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Netflix is yet to comment on Musk's post. In the past the company has repeatedly stressed its right to freedom of speech when its content has been attacked.