Cancel culture’s intention to hold people accountable has helped the internet find justice, however, their rulings may sometimes contradict the movement’s motive.
The social media trend refers to users who find someone’s actions so problematic that the person and their career are “canceled.”
During the #MeToo movement, cancel culture seemed appropriate. Predators like producer Harvey Weinstein lost credibility after being accused of sexual assault over a dozen women. Crimes like this have been deemed more than deserving of public scrutiny and the effect it has on careers.
However, the course of action becomes unclear in cases regarding past comments.
As cancel culture becomes more popular, many are coming to find their career under fire after their past resurfaces.
Quarterback Josh Allen was caught in cancel culture when his tweets from 2012 appeared right before the 2018 NFL draft. The tweets quoting rap lyrics using racial slurs created a controversy online as many found Allen’s insensitivity unforgivable.
Highlighting the entertainment industry, people are often criticized for offhand comedy.
Comedian Kevin Hart was expected to host the 2019 Oscars. After the announcement, Twitter reminded everyone of his past homophobic tweets including one where Hart states that if he were to catch his son playing with dolls, he’d break them because “that’s gay.”
After receiving enough backlash, Hart stepped down from hosting the award show.
One particular instance involves director James Gunn, who wrote a variety of offensive tweets in 2009 that recently resurfaced. The tweets ranged from “New poll. 9-11 jokes. Always in poor taste, or sometimes funny? Additional question: More or less offensive than Holocaust jokes?” to “Laughter is the best medicine. That’s why I laugh at people with AIDS.”
Gunn has apologized before and again for his distasteful humor. However, he claims he’s grown and no longer relies on shock value comedy. Regardless, the director received so much backlash, Disney fired Gunn from directing their next project “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” last July.
Those who oppose cancel culture often dismiss similar insensitive comments, claiming that humor was different back then. In reality, just because this “humor” was common in 2009, doesn’t mean it was ever acceptable, which is the point cancel culture is trying to make.
Which is why Disney’s recent decision to reinstate Gunn as director has received mixed reactions, similar to Allen who was drafted by the Buffalo Bills despite the controversy surrounding him.
Cancel culture has become so polarizing, it seems to have the opposite effect of their original intentions as their efforts seem only temporary.
This idea that every crime deserves the same punishment is counterproductive.
It’s regressive to think that people can’t grow from their past.
Someone who once made a comment out of ignorance but has since learned doesn’t deserve the same conviction as someone who knows it’s wrong and continues to do it anyway.
People should be held responsible for their actions, no matter how long ago it happened. But ignorant comments Gunn made in the past don’t put him on the same scale as Harvey Weinstein.
Cancel culture has the right motive, but its execution needs some work. We can still hold people accountable for their past mistakes, and we should. We have to recognize when people have sincerely grown and learned from their ignorance.
Great article, very well written. As we move further and further into this virtual world, I find it interesting that things like “ cancel culture “ have ramifications far beyond their original intentions. Before the ubiquitous nature of social media, the internet and a 24/7 news cycle, the words and actions of individuals like the ones cited in this article most likely would not have followed them in such a tangible way.