Peloton has removed all of former instructor Daniel McKenna’s classes from the on demand library. They disappeared around 1:30pm ET on Friday, December 2, 2022.
This follows this morning’s news that Peloton and McKenna requested to withdraw and dismiss the wrongful termination lawsuit McKenna filed against Peloton and Jennifer Cotter in October.
Prior to his classes being removed, Daniel had a number of classes in multiple categories. There were at least 33 runs, 103 strength classes, and 33 Tread Bootcamps removed, as well as a number of stretching classes and outdoor runs.
As of publishing time McKenna still appears on the instructor dropdown list, but we anticipate that will be removed soon as well. Peloton moved him to the bottom of the list – with other inactive instructors such as Chase Tucker and Irene Scholz – after announcing his departure.
Peloton announced that Daniel was no longer an instructor on October 3 after weeks of speculation from members. He filed a lawsuit the next week, alleging “wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.” Peloton was granted an extension to reply until December 5, which resulted in the dismissal and withdrawal of the suit.
This is the first major purge of classes since August of 2021. Peloton has periodically purged classes from the on demand library for years. The largest purge happened in 2019, when Peloton removed nearly 65% of the on demand library following the music licensing lawsuit from the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA). There was a small purge of short-form strength classes in March of 2022, but Peloton has not carried out any major scale purges of the on demand library since Barry McCarthy became CEO. It is unclear whether this is coincidence or a new/altered policy.
However, the circumstances around McKenna’s classes being removed are different from Peloton’s typical class removals. There have been three additional instructor departures within the past year and a half – Chase Tucker, Marina Andresen, and Irene Scholz – and all of their classes are still available on demand.
Prior to that, Peloton removed all classes from Jennifer Jacobs a little more than a year after her departure. Peloton immediately removed Oliver Lee’s classes from the on demand library due to the circumstances surrounding his departure.
If Peloton makes any official statements or comments regarding the removal of McKenna’s classes, we will be sure to share them with you.
Support the site! Enjoy the news & guides we provide? Help us keep bringing you the news. Pelo Buddy is completely free, but you can help support the site with a one-time or monthly donation that will go to our writers, editors, and more. Find out more details here.
Get Our Newsletter Want to be sure to never miss any Peloton news? Sign up for our newsletter and get all the latest Peloton updates & Peloton rumors sent directly to your inbox.
Man that is disappointing. His glutes and legs classes were the absolute best on the platform. No nonsense, no gimmicks. Dang I’m going to miss them.
I absolutely agree. Who needs all the fancy moves, not me. Great basic and effective training. Now who do I go to?
Ugh. His music (EDM), was on point with what I want/need in a class. I’m totally disappointed that he is no longer part of the peloton family 😞.