GRAPHIC: Banele Makhanya
ONE thing I really appreciate about cancel culture or call-out culture is that the people who actively participate in it want celebrities or people in positions of power to be held accountable for their actions.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting Harvey Weinstein to be held accountable and to answer for his sexual assault charges, same goes for R Kelly and Kevin Spacey.
Ethically, how can you support someone’s art knowing they’ve done something incredibly problematic and you wouldn’t excuse it if you knew the person? Why shouldn’t celebrities be held to the same ethical standards as we normal people are?
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For those that don’t know about what I’m talking about, cancel culture is a form of boycott, where the called-out person is excluded or thrust out of their social and professional circles for saying or doing something that’s problematic or politically incorrect.
Critics of cancel culture have cited how unsustainable it is – due to the constant shift in its criteria, the hypocrisy of the people that do the calling-out, basing it on the mood of that day and basically not allowing human beings any room for transgression.
Te-Nehisi Coates’ opinion piece on the New York Times, said cancel culture’s gatekeepers are normal people who could be seen as powerless.
The American writer said: “Cancel culture has always existed – for the powerful, at least. Now, social media has democratised it.”
Social media has given users a voice which is big enough to potentially take someone down or temporarily ruin their career.
Being cancelled, unfortunately for the woke gatekeepers, doesn’t always mean the end of called-out person’s career.
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Look at Chris Brown? He’s made plenty of money, going on tours and releasing albums. He’s even released a documentary since his ordeal with Rihanna. Cancelling him has barely slowed his financial gain.
You can say the same thing about Woody Allan (accused of sexual assault) , Okmalumkoolkat (convicted for sexual assault) , Tebello Motsoane (accused of domestic abuse) who have all managed to go on with their respective careers after being cancelled.
However, you can’t say the same about R Kelly (his music is still played somewhere out there), Kevin Spacey and Harvey Weinstien, the film producer who triggered the #MeToo movement.
As hard as it is for me to keep up with who’s being cancelled and who isn’t, it’s nice that celebrities can be held accountable for being irresponsible.
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