Striking over the past years, “cancel culture” has become an almost over-discussed topic across social media, news outlets, and in societal consciousness. Some people point to it as a new form of social justice and accountability, while others think it’s a dangerous trend that threatens free speech and catalyzes online mobbing. So what is cancel culture, why does it happen, and what are its real ramifications? This blog will explore the concept and definition of cancel culture by reviewing its causes and effects.

What is Cancel Culture?

Cancel culture is a collective practice of withdrawing support for certain public figures, brands, or individuals – often carried out on social media – after discovering that they have said, done, or believe to be offensive, problematic, or unacceptable. Specifically, the ‘cancelling’ aspect of cancel culture may result in boycotting behaviours, loss of employment, ostracisation from social groups, and/or performative contempt for public figures (ie. tweet threads, youtube videos, etc). The motivation behind cancel culture is often to hold people accountable for damaging behavior, as well as, to uphold the standards of society. However, the particulars of how this is enacted and its ramifications and effects can be contested.

When did cancel culture start?

Cancel culture, in its contemporary iteration, began to emerge in the mid-2010s, thanks largely to the rise of social media platforms. While public shaming and social boycotts can be observed for centuries, the term “cancel” was emphasized in online communities, particularly Black Twitter, in about 2014, in order to call behavior or opinions out as offensive or questionable. Like many societal phenomena, it soon became mainstream during the #MeToo movement in 2017, when prominent figures were condemned for their misconduct. Cancellation has since developed into a larger social phenomenon, and it is where an individual, company, or public figure suffers consequences—often viral—for their behavior or statements which the public deem to be problematic.

Reasons Behind Cancel Culture

1. Heightened Awareness and Social Justice Movements

Social media has elevated the voices of marginalized groups, including the recent surge of attention to instances of racism, sexism, homophobia, and many other forms of discrimination. Cancel culture often arises from social justice movements seeking answers to socially harmful or offensive actions.

2. One-click Global Communication

Social media enables information (or misinformation) to be disseminated quickly. Once controversial content is published, it can go viral. This can cause large groups of people to act quickly and unify, often without context or investigation.

3. Need for Answers / Accountability

Formal structures of accountability or justice are often slow. Many think of cancel culture as a way to hold people or entities and organizations accountable for their actions when institutions provide little or no accountability.

4. Echo Chambers and Group Polarization

It is not uncommon for online communities to become echo chambers of like-minded individuals who reaffirm their beliefs and systems of thinking. This can amplify outrage and encourages collective (group) punishments against an imagined offender.

5. Anonymity and Loss of Social Inhibition

Social media platforms offer layers of anonymity that sometimes encourages people to engage in aggressive or harsh criticism that they may be hesitant to do in a face-to-face encounter or experience.

Cancel culture examples

1. Kevin Hart and the Oscars (2018)

In 2018, comedian Kevin Hart relinquished his hosting duties of the Oscars once old tweets emerged online with homophobic jokes. Hart delivered an apology using social media, however the backlash pressured him to step aside and withdraw, despite addressing the situation years prior.

2. J.K. Rowling and Trans Comments (2020)

Author J.K. Rowling faced backlash, boycotts against her works after she expressed beliefs on transgender issues that were deemed transphobic by many among the public. The situation began a debate regarding hate speech from large corporations and the dilemma of free speech versus the harm of marginalized groups.

3. Gina Carano and The Mandolorian (2021)

Actress Gina Carano was publicly “canceled” by Lucasfilm as they removed the actress from the popular Star Wars series for what were deemed offensive and insensitive posts on her social media account. This ignited a debate on the level of personal expression imposed upon public figures.

4. Karla Sofía Gascón – Oscars Controversy (2025)

Karla Sofía Gascón, a Spanish actress, faced intense backlash after offensive tweets she had made between 2019 and 2021 resurfaced. She had made bigoted comments about a number of communities, and while she did apologize, she was removed from any promotional activities for her movie Emilia Pérez, and the release of her book was cancelled.

5. Kneecap – Coachella Fallout (2025)

The Irish rap group Kneecap has received substantial criticism after sharing politically provocative statements and images at Coachella, including support for Hamas and Hezbollah, that resulted in canceled concerts in Europe and calls to remove them from Glastonbury. An inquiry into possible inciting and glorifying terrorism, however, there was also support from other influential musicians championing artistic expression.

These cancel culture examples highlight the ongoing complexities and debates surrounding cancel culture, illustrating how it manifests across different sectors and communities.

The Impacts of Cancel Culture

1. Positive Impacts

• Accountability – Cancel culture provides some accountability by putting pressure on organizations and individuals to acknowledge and fix harmful behavior, encouraging greater social obligation. 
• Empowerment – It disempowers the traditional power structures because it provides a third-way to speak up about grievances and thus reduces oppression of marginalized voices. 
• Shift in Culture – Cancel culture helps raise awareness of important social issues, it gets the conversation going about ethics, diversity and respect. 

2. Negative Impacts

• Mob Mentality and Overreach – Sometimes cancel culture leads to excessive backlash for minor or misunderstood offenses and can lead to harassment or bullying. 
• Lack of Due Process – The court of public opinion rarely provides nuance, context, or redemption, which makes it easy to ruin reputations without any type of process. 
• Chilling Effect on Free Speech – Probably the most damaging aspect of cancel culture is that fear of being “canceled”, will deter people from engaging in conversations, making honest mistakes, or expressing unpopular opinions about the thing because they fear being shut down or excluded. 
• Polarization – Cancel culture creates polarization by advancing an “us against them” mentality and limits opportunities for productive conversations and restorative justice.

Is cancel culture good or bad?

It’s hard to argue the merits of cancel culture; whether it is a “good” or “bad” thing is vastly context-dependent and subjective. While many proponents are passionate advocates for cancel culture, which they claim is merely another powerful tool for holding people accountable for their sharply/painful actions and help accountability happen faster and more effectively in cases where the courts fail to offer justice. Considering canceled folks, when they say they want to support disenfranchised people because cancel culture allows marginalized voices to be centered and, ultimately, call for change; while critics may say cancel culture is prohibitive, with a tendency to be morally judgmental, and it comes with little to no forgiveness or drawn-out due process. Cancel culture sometimes does not just bring their ideologies to light, but it introduces prejudice, anxiety, and psychological disturbance backed by mob mentality (and not always because of non-forgivable actions). So, essentially, cancel culture can mean different things depending on how one argues, and depending on how it is enacted, it can be a social justice movement or a digital mob.

Striking a Balance: Accountability vs. Compassion

On the one hand, we have the commitment to holding people accountable for their actions. On the other hand, there is a real desire to allow people the space to learn, grow, and, where possible, forgive. While cancel culture provided a mechanism for social justice efforts, it forces us to consider questions around fairness, proportionality, and compassion.

Accountability should include opportunities for constructive criticism, facts verification, and discussion. If our plans to hold someone accountable provided some space for education and equal growth and, therefore, not cancelling them right away is more productive, we could create a safer space to advance society.

Conclusion

In sum, cancel culture is a complicated and nuanced phenomenon that stems from the evolving values of society, and the expediency created by communicating at speed and scale. The more we understand how and why cancel culture exists, and its pros and cons, the better we can deal with its challenges and opportunities. As audience members in the media and public dialogues, we should care enough about this power that comes with being part of the public conversations – and find a composite value with social justice and empathy.

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