Of The Elusive Nature Of The Cancel Culture

Pop culture has its fair share of fads;from fashion fads,to words..you can never really predict what is next in line. Some fade into oblivion just as fast as they came,while others seem to stand the test of time.

Enter cancel culture which now has gained insurmountable notoriety since it became a thing. The term ‘cancel’ has now rapidly been used to insinuate ending a celebrity’s career and influence for supposed missdoings. Does it even work?

More than a myriad personalities have found themselves on the short end of the stick  when it comes to being cancelled. When past homophobic comments came to haunt Kevin Hart earlier this year,he had no choice but bail out from hosting this year’s Oscars. Mixed reactions took centrestage,pitting those who felt that the backlash was unnecessary with those who were not about to take it lying down. Was that enough to deem him cancelled? Probably not. He still has his career on deck. Remember Jussie Smollett’s controversial supposed racially-charged and homophobic attack that was later ruled a well-orchestrated publicity stunt?And what befell him after all back and forth with Chicago police and courtroom wrangles that ensued?If you have been living under a rock,Jussie Smollett was ejected from the final season of Empire and not much has been heard from him since. Suffice to say he is cancelled?

Enter Michael Jackson and all the dirty linen aired in Leaving Neverland. With such gravely chilling allegations against him,it would make sense if the world contemplated a boycott of his music,but that is not about to happen if his posthumous sales are anything to go by. It is evidently a tad harder to ‘cancel’ a celebrity whose influence runs deep. In a nutshell,cancellation is not really permanent. Nicki Minaj,Taylor Swift and Kanye West are all thriving after all being apparently cancelled. If anything, it keeps them abreast that the public holds them accountable.