Cutting celebrity cancel culture

Kate Zheng, Asst. Feature Editor|October 17, 2018

While one can use an online platform to spread empowering messages, share opinions or increase awareness of issues, one click is all it takes to “cancel” a career.

Cancel culture describes  the downfall of celebrities or influential figures after they’ve said or done something problematic, causing fans to no longer support them. Stars can lose not only their followers, but also their network deals, sponsors and reputations.

Cancel culture has become especially common because opinions  posted on the internet  live forever  and can be seen by anyone.

Although it’s important to be aware of bad influences on the internet, it’s not always the right move to immediately jump to “cancelling” these influencers’ careers. Offering helpful and  constructive criticism to the celebrity is one thing, but refusing their apologies and taking the opportunity of their downfall to also mock or ridicule them on the issues of their past is another.

As browsers, we also need to know when to draw the line between helping someone and unnecessarily hurting a person. Insulting celebrities online for a short period of time does not address the actual root of the problem, and only causes controversy and backlash from fans.

One case of unnecessary cancel culture involved Doja Cat, a Los Angeles  songwriter and music producer. With the success of her newly released song, “Mooo!,” the internet has focused the spotlight on her. Unfortunately, this caused some browsers to discover some homophobic tweets that she posted in 2015, while she was  in high school. Her twitter immediately exploded, and internet users labeled her with the term “cancelled.”

While it is disheartening to see a respected celebrity acting in such an offensive  manner, one should also keep in mind that the celebrity could have been educated on the topic in between the present and the time of the post.

Through personal growth, these influencers could have learned to filter out their insensitive comments or thoughts. Celebrities are also human, and they too learn through the process of making mistakes. One slip-up from the past should not determine what their future career will look like.

“Guardians of the Galaxy” director James Gunn faced  an unfair situation with cancel culture this summer. Just like Doja Cat, Gunn was exposed to the public when some tweets he made in 2008 resurfaced on the internet. The posts he made at the time contained offensive statements on controversial issues such as rape and pedophilia.

Although not many addressed the scandal during the actual year of the post, the recent publicizing of his offensive statements caused him to lose his job, dignity and reputation.

Gunn has since then apologized many times on Twitter, claiming that he has developed both his character ever since the incident. The cast of the new “Guardians of the Galaxy” started a petition to save his job since they believed he was a changed man. But Gunn was fired from the film and the future of his career remains in question.

Rude criticisms and harsh comments are inevitable on today’s internet, and although the internet will never be a safe place where everyone can rely on each other for support, it is still possible to help others improve by offering constructive criticisms or advice.

 Throwing around unproductive insults does not benefit anyone on the internet.

Many people grow up holding uninformed opinions, but once these people gain more knowledge on the topic, they can change for the better. Only with a second chance can they have the opportunity to learn from their mistakes and become a better person in the future.

While not everyone should be forgiven for their actions, and not everyone can be spared from harsh backlash, many times, cancel culture is due to jumping to conclusions or twisting rumors out of proportion, and that should be avoided.