Titanic is back on Netflix on May 7 - and People Are Angry

Titanic is back on Netflix on May 7 - and People Are Angry

Usually, when Netflix adds a beloved classic to its library, people cheer. This time it's a big boo-boo: the streaming service is facing a major backlash for adding "Titanic" on July 1 in the U.S. and Canada in the wake of last week's Ocean Gate Titan submarine tragedy, which killed all five passengers.

The missing submersible, which was scheduled to explore the wreckage of the Titanic in the Atlantic, was big news as the world waited to learn its fate. Sadly, investigators announced that the submarine had exploded.

The RMS Titanic struck an iceberg and sank in 1912, killing over 1,500 passengers, making it the worst peacetime maritime disaster in history.

Director James Cameron famously filmed the wreckage of the Titanic in 1997, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.

Cameron is an avid deep-sea explorer, having visited the Titanic more than 30 times and has been to the Mariana Trench in his submersible Deep Sea Challenger. He has spoken to the media several times about the Titan tragedy, pointing out the submarine's construction flaws and safety concerns.

"I was struck by the similarity to the Titanic disaster itself," he told ABC News. Despite repeated warnings that there was ice ahead of the ship, "the captain plowed full speed into the ice field on a moonless night, and many people died as a result."

The re-addition of "Titanic" on Netflix has sparked outrage on social media. One Twitter user wrote: "Netflix is overstepping the bounds of decency at this time." Many have expressed their disgust at Netflix's use of tragedy.

Another Twitter user wrote, "I just cancelled my Netflix subscription over this. I'm sick of these companies corrupting morals for profit."

Perhaps Netflix did not plan this at all. An insider told Variety that Titanic's July 1 arrival was a "coincidence" and that the licensing agreement was signed long ago.

The timing is just bad, and the optics are extremely poor.

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