A former Eyeline Studios executive has sued the company, alleging that his disclosure of medically supervised ketamine treatment during a workplace trust exercise contributed to an investigation and his eventual dismissal. The account comes from a New York Post report describing the claims in the lawsuit; the allegations have not been adjudicated.
Kevin Baillie, formerly a vice president and head of creative at the Netflix visual-effects business, said he received the treatment for clinical depression following his mother’s death. According to the suit, the sessions took place under medical supervision at a Santa Barbara clinic in October and November 2022.
Baillie said he discussed that history at a “Vulnerability-Trust” exercise during a January 2026 retreat at Sendero Ranch, a Northern California property owned by Netflix. His complaint portrays the disclosure as personal information shared in the setting encouraged by the exercise.
The suit alleges that a company investigator raised the subject with Baillie on March 18 in a way that suggested concern about recreational drug use. He was dismissed in April. According to the reported filing, a company attorney later confirmed that the ketamine-therapy issue had factored into the termination. Baillie also claims he was denied as much as one year of severance pay.
The investigation was broader than the medical disclosure, according to the complaint. Baillie said it covered alleged profanity and alcohol use. He cited a performance review that advised him to reduce, but not entirely stop, his use of profanity. The lawsuit also describes him performing a headstand while drinking a Guinness at the retreat after a colleague asked him to demonstrate a trick he had mentioned during a conversation.
Baillie’s filing contrasts scrutiny of that conduct with what it characterizes as a company-sponsored and leadership-modelled drinking culture. It alleges that Eyeline chief executive Jeff Shapiro brought beer for employees during a car journey to an awards event, attended several work occasions where alcohol was consumed, and kept a personal bar in his office. These points are Baillie’s allegations and do not amount to findings about Shapiro or the company.
The former executive is seeking a jury trial as well as compensation that includes lost wages, emotional-distress damages and punitive damages, the Post reported. Netflix and Eyeline were contacted for comment, but no response was included in the supplied account.
The filing places the meaning of a workplace trust exercise at the centre of the dispute: Baillie argues that a medically related disclosure made in an environment designed to encourage openness was later used against him. The company’s response and any competing account of the reasons for termination were not available in the evidence supplied for this report. The case will require the court to assess the complaint, any defence and the evidence presented by both sides.
