The spectrum of Cancel Culture

Cancel culture is the practice of boycotting or withdrawing support for celebrities and companies after they have done or said something that is considered intolerable. Dr Lauren Rosewarne, a Social and Political Sciences Professor at the University of Melbourne called it “the process of calling out people in a public forum about behaviour that’s deemed unacceptable.”

“If you’re gonna say something racist, homophobic…there’s now a culture that will police that.” Lauren said.

When a person/company is cancelled, they are expected to take accountability, apologise, and learn from their wrongdoings. If they fail to do so, the public often avoid engaging with the ‘cancelled’ and their work.

Publicly punishing those who go against society’s morals has been demonstrated throughout human history. Societies have shamed those who go against societal values for centuries, cancel culture is merely another variant.

The term ‘cancelled’ began gaining popularity after an episode aired from VH1’s reality TV show Love and Hip-Hop: New York in December 2014. During a fight with his girlfriend, cast member, Cisco Rosado, tells her: “you’re cancelled.”

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😭😭😭😭 wait..... he just told her 'she's cancelled' lmao

— bri ✨ (@brianasade_) December 23, 2014

The notion of cancel culture is broad and being ‘cancelled’ comes at different severities.

“It depends on what the destruction was”, Lauren said. “You can take away [their] cultural imprint. That’s all we can do as individuals. Most of the actual cancellation happens by…studios, television programs, etc.”

So, is it possible to be ‘un-cancelled’? We will look at 3 different celebrities cancelled for different reasons to answer this.

Harvey Weinstein

Harvey Weinstein is an ex-film producer who co-founded the production companies ‘Miramax’ and ‘the Weinstein Company.’ Since October 2017, over eighty women have accused Weinstein of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and rape, with allegations spaning over almost three decades. Women who have spoken out against Weinstein include Rose McGowan, Cate Blanchett, Asia Argento and Angelina Jolie. All these allegations helped fuel the #MeToo movement, with more and more women speaking up.

Even before his trial, Weinstein faced harsh repercussions for his actions. He was fired by the board of his company, the Producers Guild of America banned him for life and his name was ruined globally.

Weinstein was found guilty of sexually assaulting former production assistant, Mimi Haleyi, as well as raping actress, Jessica Mann. He was sentenced to twenty-three years in prison. However, no amount of jail time could possibly repair destruction he has caused.

J.K Rowling

The author of the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling, has been cancelled regarding her controversial transphobic views.

In June 2020, Rowling tweeted an article about ‘People who menstruate’, disagreeing with it not saying ‘women.’ Rowling completely disregarded non-binary people and transgender men who menstruate, which many saw as transphobic.

‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?

Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate https://t.co/cVpZxG7gaA

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 6, 2020

After her tweet received public backlash, Rowling went into further detail on her views, creating even more outrage. Twitter users argued that Rowling was suggesting transgender women are not truly women.

Although Rowling has been cancelled for her views, her career has not been affected majorly. Rowling is still publishing books, and one of her recent publications, Troubled Blood, reiterates her transphobic beliefs and backwards notion about gender.

Lauren said, “If you want to see her cancelled, she’s not going to be…but what you can do as an individual is not buy her stuff and not follow her on social media.”

Rowling demonstrates how it is possible to be cancelled for controversial opinions without her career being affected of ending.

Reese Witherspoon

Reese Witherspoon is one of the most adored female celebrities. However, in 2013 she was arrested for disorderly conduct when her husband was charged with a DUI. Both were intoxicated and released dash-cam footage shows Witherspoon arguing with the police officer, saying “Do you know my name?” and “You’re about to find out who I am”.

Witherspoon received public backlash and issued an apology shortly after: “I am deeply embarrassed…I was disrespectful to the officer who was just doing his job…I’m very sorry for my behaviour.”

Witherspoon kept her head down and worked hard on her production company, Hello Sunshine. By the time Gone Girl was produced in 2014, she was being “heralded as a genius”, according to podcast, Shameless.

Depending on the severity of the cancelled’s actions, it is possible to repair one’s image and become un-cancelled, Lauren said.

“There’s some things where you can just apologise… Then there’ll be some things that you’re going to have to do the work… Then there’ll be other figures who just ride it out and don’t give it any airtime.” 

While Weinstein will remain a sex offender and Rowling controversial for her beliefs, Witherspoon was able to restore her name and be forgiven by society.