The Toxicity of Cancel Culture

By Mimi Lebeau ‘24

Cancel culture is harmful to influencers’ and celebrities’ mental health and careers, and although its original intent was noble, it has become completely toxic.
Cancel culture is a growing phenomenon in which people are criticized and harassed for actions deemed inappropriate or hurtful. It began gaining traction in recent years and has been especially prominent on YouTube, TikTok, Twitter and other social media platforms. What makes these places home to this phenomenon is that users can speak out against influencers anonymously with no consequences.

When a celebrity makes a mistake as small in a comment, it can be perceived as unacceptable, after which they are typically flooded with hate on all platforms ranging from mockery to death threats. The original intent of canceling celebrities was to condemn them for their mistakes, but it has grown to a point where every one of their actions is ridiculously overanalyzed and criticized. 
Every public appearance is scrutinized as pop culture journalists search for gossip to stir up and influencers to demolish. Public figures constantly have to deal with invasions of their privacy as paparazzi and bloggers watch intently for a reason to cancel them. As Robinson Meyer wrote in his The Atlantic article, “the internet’s only currency is attention.”
Pop culture journalists look for any excuse to stir up drama and will go to great lengths including stalking and trespassing to draw attention to themselves at the expense of the person they expose. And now, with the power to end someone’s career at the tip of one’s fingers, the internet has become a breeding ground for rumors and lies. 
In many cases, these allegations are merely suspected rather than confirmed by an eyewitness or hard evidence, meaning a celebrity’s career can plummet based on the effects of a rumor. It is so easy to spread lies online, and through cancel culture’s vast influence, these suspicions can easily take root. This toxic development of an unfortunately common practice made simpler by new technology is what nurtured cancel culture to grow into the phenomenon that it is today. 
So then it is unsurprising to see that celebrities are even canceled over past mistakes such as blackfishing (pretending to be black) or saying the n-word, an obvious attempt by these pho-journalists to create gossip. Although both are completely unacceptable, penalizing people for mistakes they made in their youth or when they were less educated and have since apologized for is illogical as it stunts personal growth and instead forces them to relive it. 
Jimmy Fallon, popular comedian and TV show host, was recently canceled for doing blackface on Saturday Night Live, posing as Chris Rock back in 2000. As inexcusable as it is, Fallon had previously apologized in 2007 when the issue was first brought up. As it resurfaced in 2020, he was hit by the more explosive cancel culture that didn’t even exist when he dealt with his mistake in 2007. 
This time, he was faced with online harassment and a hashtag to spread the word: #jimmyfallonisoverparty.
“In 2000, while on SNL, I made a terrible decision to do an impersonation of Chris Rock while in blackface. There is no excuse for this,” Fallon issued a sincere response. “I am very sorry for making this unquestionably offensive decision and thank all of you for holding me accountable.”
After twenty years, the reemergence of Fallon’s racist skit leading him to be trolled and attacked all over the internet even after he apologized shows the violent and widespread effect cancel culture can have online and in the real world.
But cancel culture not only impacts adult influencers but also media personalities as young as early teenagers. They are threatened and harassed online for their wrong-doings when, at that age, they may not even know better. During anyone’s teenage years, they are bound to make countless mistakes, and should by no means be attacked for that. 
16-year-old TikTok influencer Charli D’amelio, canceled for voicing her hope to gain 100 million followers in a YouTube video, was attacked for being ungrateful for her fans and platform. The media picks through every sentence and comment celebrities make, thus putting an inordinate amount of pressure on them. For an influencer as young as D’amelio, it is especially hard to have her life broadcasted and analyzed by viewers, forced to suppress or shield any part of her personality that may not be accepted. On her livestream, D’amelio cried, speaking out about the online community that she is a part of.
Though famous, public figures are still human and therefore make mistakes. Cancel culture has caused the ruthless harassment of influencers for small lapses in judgment or past errors that they have since apologized for, which is not only irrational but insensitive and wrong.