Most Americans, especially millennials and Generation Z, are quite familiar with the term “cancel culture.” Pew Research Center states, “44% of Americans say they have heard at least a fair amount about the phrase.” Even though the term was first coined in the 2010s, this concept has existed for thousands of years, from Emperor Qin in 212 B.C. executing scholars “for owning forbidden books” to passing mentions in movies in the 1980s or 1990s. According to Wikipedia, “cancel culture is a phenomenon in which those who are deemed to have acted or spoken in an unacceptable manner are ostracized, boycotted, or shunned. This shunning may extend to social or professional circles—whether on social media or in person—with most high-profile incidents involving celebrities.” But cancel culture is much broader than just one finite definition.

        People who support and oppose cancel culture define it in very different ways. Supporters of cancel culture believe it is a way to hold people accountable for their actions and statements. They believe that some victims prefer seeing the perpetrators removed from power before they are able to further commit crimes and hurt more people. Although on the surface it seems that the shift from traditional boycotts to online “canceling” would be ineffective, cancel culture has undeniably created social and legal change. Women have found a movement that lets them share their voice: the #MeToo movement (Dastagir). As a result of this movement, several sexual predators and abusers have been successfully brought to legal justice. For example, Harvey Weinstein, a film producer, has been accused of sexual harassment and/or rape by more than 80 women (Wikipedia). The widespread denouncement of him is popularly believed to be the main reason for his conviction and his prison sentence of 39 years (Wikipedia). Supporters of cancel culture will argue that without canceling these powerful and famous people who commit crimes, they would never have been put in jail. 

     Numerous individuals who are vastly different in background and profession are not immune to today’s cancel culture.  This includes author J.K. Rowling and rapper and fashion designer Kanye West. While they haven’t committed any crimes, their statements have been deemed borderline or complete hate speech. As for J.K. Rowling, many people, including well-known streamers such as Hasan Piker and Valkyrae on the platform Twitch, are refusing to play the new Harry Potter based game, Hogwarts Legacy (Ghoshal). The reason these streamers refuse to play the game is because J.K. Rowling has said many controversial comments about transgender people, thus garnering significant opposition against her. 

         As opposed to the generally well-respected J.K. Rowling, the controversial Kanye West, who wore a “White Lives Matter” shirt in his Paris fashion show, tweeted anti-Semitic comments, and followed it up with many more anti-Semitic comments in various interviews. Numerous high profile individuals have condemned his actions, stating it is unacceptable for him to misuse his platform in such disrespectful ways (France). Many brand deals of his were immediately terminated, including Adidas, Balenciaga, and Gap. According to various sources, this has resulted in a swift loss of his billionaire status, with his current net worth sitting at $400 million as opposed to $2 billion previously (Forbes). An Adidas company statement proclaimed that his recent antisemitic comments are “unacceptable, hateful, and dangerous” and that he “[violated the company’s] values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness” (Valinsky).

      In stark contrast, opponents of cancel culture believe it’s an outright attack on free speech. Opponents argue that cancel culture leaves no room for transgressors to own their mistakes and grow from their experiences.. Cancel culture’s main medium of operations is social media. As the examples show, problematic remarks can rapidly spread across several social media platforms in just a matter of days, or even hours and minutes in some cases. In the past, “cancel culture” was mainly centered around boycotting and banning. Another term commonly associated with the dark side of cancel culture is mob mentality. As more word gets around about a specific issue, a large mob of people will make sure the canceled person(s) gets stripped of their success and status. This can lead to many toxic and damaging hate comments and even rope in people who are falsely accused of into a spiral of being canceled. 

      It’s hard to draw the line between toxicity and accountability. Some claim “cancel culture” isn’t even a real term. They believe it mislabels what the movement really is: reducing what they think is a powerful way for victims to seek reparations, to just a system of bullying, toxicity, and thought suppression (Duke). Proponents of cancel culture need to recognize that the movement has truly extended too far. A single minor and politically incorrect social media post should not be something that ends someone's career, especially if they have apologized and amended their statements. But opponents of cancel culture need to acknowledge that for serious matters, cancel culture really works to hold people accountable who engage in criminal activity. The definition of cancel culture is ever evolving and expanding. 

Works Cited

“Cancel Culture.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Mar. 2023,                                                                                                                                                                                  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancel_culture. 

Dastagir, Alia E. "Cancel Culture Is a Cop-Out to Victims." USA TODAY, 3 Mar. 2023, 

            ProQuest; SIRS Issues Researcher,    

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France, Lisa Respers. “Kanye West Canceled? Here's Why It Probably Won't Happen.” CNN, 

       Cable News Network, 17 Oct. 2022,

       cnn.com/2022/10/15/entertainment/kanye-west-canceled/index.html.

Ghoshal, Shivadita. “‘It's Not Worth It to Get f***King Bullied Endlessly’ - Streamers Hasan        

            Piker and Valkyrae Reveal Why They Won't Be Playing Hogwarts Legacy.” 

            EssentiallySports, 10 Feb. 2023,  essentiallysports.com/esports-

            News-its-not-worth-it-to-get-fking-bullied-endlessly-streamers-hasan-piker-

            and-valkyrae-reveal-why-they-wont-be-playing-hogwarts-legacy/.

“Harvey Weinstein.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Mar. 2023, en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Weinstein.

“Kanye West.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, forbes.com/profile/kanye-west/.

Valinsky, Jordan. “Adidas Terminates Partnership with Kanye West | CNN Business.” CNN, Cable News Network, 26 Oct. 2022, cnn.com/2022/10/25/business/adidas-ye-ends-partnership/index.html.

Vogels, Emily, et al. “Americans and 'Cancel Culture': Where Some See Calls for Accountability, Others See Censorship, Punishment.” Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech, Pew Research Center, 30 June 2022, pewresearch.org/internet/2021/05/19/americans-and-cancel-culture-where--see-calls-for-accountability-others-see-censorship-punishment/.