Within the past year, many celebrities have experienced the wrath of “cancel culture.” By recent definition, the term “to cancel someone (usually a celebrity or other well-known figure) means to stop giving support to that person.” The reasoning for canceling someone is usually because of an objectionable opinion, acting unacceptably and overall demanding more accountability from celebrities and public figures.
These days, with social media, a famous individual can go from stardom to cancelation in under 24 hours. Check out this list of seven celebrities who know what it's like to be canceled all too well:
Morgan Wallen
Morgan Wallen is a country star who became especially popular in 2020. The "Whiskey Glasses" singer was canceled this past February for making racist comments. A video of Wallen casually tossing around a racial slur outside his home emerged on social media. As a result, Wallen was suspended from his record label, deemed ineligible for any American Country Music Awards and was removed from every major country radio station.
Following the incident, the country singer posted a five-minute YouTube video statement on the controversy and how he plans to educate himself.
Shane Dawson
Shane Dawson is a well-known name in the YouTube world. He was one of the first people to rise to fame on YouTube. In 2020, disturbing "jokes" from past videos resurfaced. Dawson had created racist videos, many where he wore blackface. The offensive content caused his book to be pulled from Target, his Morphe makeup collection was removed from stores and he lost numerous subscribers.
Lea Michelle
Lea Michelle is an actress, well-known for her lead role in the hit TV series Glee. Michelle shared a tweet supporting the Black Lives Matter Movement in May 2020. Then, her fellow Glee co-star, Sammie Ware, quickly called her out on past actions. Ware said via Twitter that Michelle participated in microaggressions that "made her question her career in Hollywood."
Sia
Pop star Sia recently directed a movie titled Music. The film follows a main character who is on the autism spectrum and is trying to find her voice and sense of family. Sia received backlash for casting Dance Moms star Maddie Ziegler as the young girl on the spectrum instead of an actress diagnosed with autism. Further, the movie displays offensive autism stereotypes and triggering visual effects.
David Dobrik
David Dobrik is a YouTube star who was canceled in March 2021. Dobrik's videos feature the “Vlog Squad,” a recurring group of friends. A woman claimed squad member Durte Dom raped her while she was incapacitated by alcohol. The video was a part of a bit Dobrik was involved in. Former members of the Vlog Squad, like Trisha Paytas, confirmed hearing of girls being pressured into sexual situations for YouTube videos. Dobrik has lost subscribers and almost all of his sponsorships as a result of the allegations.
The YouTuber received even more backlash after posting a two-minute, 32-second “apology” video to his channel. After he began losing sponsorships and sunk his career even further, he only then posted a longer video to his main channel. The poor attempt of apology videos were so pathetic that Saturday Night Live has since made a skit mocking them.
Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen DeGeneres is a comedian and television host most well-known for The Ellen Show. She has been canceled due to claims of creating a toxic work environment. Former employees revealed DeGeneres is not the same person when the cameras stop rolling. She is demanding and ditches her "be kind" principles. Former employees also said DeGeneres would fire people who take medical leave, make racist comments and contribute to microaggressions.
J.K. Rowling
J.K. Rowling is the author of the famous book series Harry Potter. Rowling was canceled for being transphobic. The controversy started as Rowling tweeted support for TERFism. TERFism believes that trans women aren't women and that biological sex is the only factor that determines someone's gender. Then, she further affirmed her opinion by mocking a news headline about transgender people on Twitter.
