Should We Cancel Cancel Culture?

 by Sophie Price

Will Smith

Cambridge University defines cancel culture as “a way of behaving in a society or group, especially on social media, in which it is common to reject and stop supporting someone because they have said or done something that offends you”. But what does that mean, what is an unacceptable manner, and what effect is it having on our society?

I’m sure you’ve heard the news of Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars over an insensitive joke about Jada Smith’s ill health. For this event, both Smith and Rock were “cancelled”. People unfollowed both parties on social media, there was speculation about any previous disagreements, and everyone had an opinion about who was right or wrong. While Smith released an apology video and was banned from the Oscars for ten years for his reaction, Rock mocked Smith further and has suffered no official consequences. Here, it is clear that society deemed violence to be worse than an insensitive joke; we cancelled Will Smith, while Chris Rock remains unfazed.

However, on the less popular side of social media, the Tiktoker and influencer OnlyJayus was cancelled last year due to unearthed screenshots from her teens. HITC explains that the texts showed her using slurs to harm the black community, and while she apologised with a lengthy video across all of her platforms, she still lost followers. Was it right to cancel her for this - did she deserve it? The evidence suggests that Jayus was in her teens when she sent the messages; her current behaviour doesn’t show her as racist. The content creator has collaborated with black influencers to share accounts of the trauma caused by racism and has since calmed her previously risky sense of humour. Despite these actions, she is still an awkward conversation topic, and many try to avoid her.

With such harsh reactions, one must think: did they mean the comment? Was it deliberately cruel and calculated or an ill-judged, uneducated remark with the wrong audience? I have found asking myself these questions before reacting to something can help me stay calm and question the other person’s viewpoint instead of responding how society expects: anger and avoidance of the original problem. Wouldn’t it have been so much easier if people accepted that Chris Rock and Will Smith made mistakes that night, and both should be held accountable for that mistake? Smith apologised. Rock has not. Despite this, we can move forward and call for better conduct next time. Was a 10-year ban too much when Rock has faced no consequences? Despite this, we must realise that no one can be perfect - with high tensions, adrenaline and testosterone can take over. Even a comment from someone’s youth can affect their future aspects. While this is important to view and understand, should a mistake a decade ago cost someone opportunities today? 

Naturally, there are boundaries to this idea. We cannot forgive every murderer for their “mistakes”, no matter how much they apologise. Despite this rule, manslaughter is punished less harshly than murder due to the circumstances. While I am not comparing cancelling someone to imprisoning them, should we take a similar approach by only boycotting those that have made no attempt at apologising or whose actions are beyond redemption? With that in mind, it is now up to us to decide how and when to cancel people.