Cancel Culture Needs to Stop
By Angela Ryan
Assisted by the continued growth of social media, a trend has made its way to the young people of our society today. This trend is cancel culture. Cancel culture can result in the destruction of someone’s public platform or career over a mistake that they made even so much as over ten years ago, and it needs to stop.
Cancel culture involves a mass of people withdrawing their support from or attacking public figures and organizations after they have done or said something that is widely considered offensive, therefore “cancelling” that person. This toxic culture is something that countless people and organizations have suffered from, many never having recovered.
There is one large point that must be addressed first, and that is that cancel culture is NOT the same thing as holding people accountable for their actions. Holding people accountable for their actions is a hugely important thing that needs to continue to happen, and there is nothing wrong with this practice. What is problematic is the deliberate attacking and bullying of those who made these mistakes, beyond the point of holding these people accountable. Many people nowadays will post something online, saying how they “hate [insert public figure] for [insert offensive action]” and that’s that. Even former President Barack Obama called out this practice in 2019, saying “That’s not activism. That’s not bringing about change.”
Many times, celebrities who are “cancelled” are confronted with comments or jokes they made 5+ years ago. Though it may be a small number, five years is a long time. Yes, celebrities should hold themselves and be held accountable for their actions, but shouldn’t be “cancelled”. I know I and most people around me look back on themselves from even just a year ago and cringe at who they were. Have you ever looked back at an old post you made and thought, “Why did I do that”? Or looked through your camera roll and cringed at old pictures and selfies? People change. Nobody is the same person they were a year ago, let alone 5, 6, or 7.
Recently over this past summer, cancel culture has been more active than ever. With the death of George Floyd back in May sparking Black Lives Matter conversations all over the nation, celebrities, companies and organizations have been coming forward with their mistakes and regrets of their past. It was great seeing public figures holding themselves accountable and apologizing for their actions, without the need for them to be “exposed.” However, those who didn’t immediately come forward were promptly cancelled. One example of this was Hartley Sawyer, an actor who starred on CW’s “The Flash.” He was “exposed” through a post on twitter in June, calling him out for misogynistic, racist and homophobic tweets he made 6+ years ago, some even as far as 11 years ago. Twitter quickly set to work, getting Sawyer fired from the show. Though the masses opted to cancel Sawyer, some responded to the tweet saying that people shouldn’t have their careers destroyed for comments they made that long ago, and that people change. Some talked about their own experiences and how they themselves have changed in that same amount of time, and realized their own ignorant beliefs.
Another recent example of cancel culture is YouTuber Jenna Marbles, who was bullied off of the platform despite being one of its original content creators. Back in 2011 and 2012, Jenna Marbles posted videos that consisted of blackface, racist and derogatory remarks, and one that slut-shamed women. These videos were 8+ years ago, but the community still decided to cancel her. Jenna was one of the most loved creators on YouTube, and the responses of fellow content creators reflected that. This event spurred other creators to speak out against cancel culture, addressing the problems that come with it. Science YouTuber Hank Green wrote, “I really strongly believe that we should be judged not by how we acted when we were ignorant, but how we responded when we were informed.” He continues to talk about how some creators make a quick apology with a fake cry and continue to make the same mistakes, but others genuinely apologize for their mistakes, listen to the criticism and change their content accordingly. He places Jenna in the genuine apology group. LaurDIY, a DIY YouTube Creator tweeted, “...there’s a difference between holding creators responsible for certain standards and expectations of honesty and incessantly BULLYING someone who embraces growth and accountability”. PewDiePie, the largest independent YouTuber on the platform with over 105 million subscribers, wrote similar remarks in a post to YouTube. He also wrote, “I thought the point was to learn from your mistakes and do better? We all have problems in our past, no one in the world is perfect… So disappointed with the internet and how far things have gotten.” He accompanies this post with a screenshot of the headlines about the subject, he writes, “And of course these are the headlines as well.” The headlines read, “YouTuber Jenna Marbles quits over blackface”, “Comedy vlogger Jenna Marbles quits YouTube over racist videos”, and “Jenna Marbles quits YouTube over past blackface videos and ‘racist’ jokes.” Each headline aims at enforcing the point that Jenna quit YouTube because of her “racist” past, not because of the bullying she received from the community and the cancel culture along with it.
As always, every issue has its own sides. Sometimes cancelling a public figure is an appropriate response to what they have done. If much of the content online creators and comedians made ten years ago were made today, the internet would immediately crack down on the racist, homophobic and misogynistic jokes that used to be considered ‘just jokes’. And, rightly so. Nowadays, there are sources everywhere where you can educate yourself on how to not be racist, homophobic and misogynistic that didn’t exist ten years ago. Ten years ago, much of the demographic that participates in cancel culture wasn’t even ten years old. So I ask, next time you participate in a #isoverparty on twitter, post a rant about a celebrity on your story or even gossip about the latest celebrity scandal, do your research first. Don’t ruin somebody’s life over a mistake they made 5+ years ago just because it’s trending. Yes, hold people accountable for their comments and actions, but don’t ruin their reputation, career or their life if the situation doesn’t warrant it.