We have all seen on Instagram, Tiktok, or any other social media platform, people rising and falling off personal pedestals in an instant. Whether some deserve it or not, this treatment has become something people just have to accept. This is something that we coined, “Cancel Culture.” I have seen people be put on a pedestal and then someone finds out something they did in their past. They then share this with the world and ruin this person’s reputation.
Now I am not oblivious to the fact that some people are “Canceled” for legitimate reasons. Yet many people who have been canceled did nothing and have their reputation destroyed just because of the simple fact that in the past they made mistakes and people want to punish them for it. Typically said mistakes were not even actual crimes and are typically just basic human mistakes.
In 2020 Dixie D’Amelio, a famous TikTok influencer, singer, Youtuber, and podcaster who got her rise to fame because of her sister Charlie, was canceled for eating snails and spitting them out because she didn’t like them. Personally, I find this to be absolutely preposterous. Everyone has eaten something that they have found disgusting before, yet people decided to cancel Dixie because of throwing up the food. Some said that she disrespected the chef and that the chef was extremely hurt by this because he had put lots of effort into the meal. This argument was quickly refuted when it was discovered that the chef and the D’Amelio family were actually friends and this meal was prepared because they knew that Dixie D’Amelio would not like the food. Along with this, Dixie and said chef even collaborated again to do a “eat disgusting food challenge.”
This whole situation happened at the very peak of the D’Amelio fame, which shows how people can blow things out of proportion because someone is doing well for themselves and they are jealous because they are not able to accomplish the same things. To feel better about themselves and their situation they will cancel someone because they are openly aware about the impact that can make on someone’s career and life.
Another public figure marred by their own popularity is Hailey Bieber. For years now there has been drama among Hailey Bieber, Justin Bieber, and Selena Gomez. The drama between the three is that Selena Gomez and Justin Beiber used to date years ago. After this ended, Justin started seeing Hailey and they eventually got married There has been lots of speculation on how this relationship started, E.T.C.. I believe this whole conflict was solely created by the media and the same goes for the destruction of peoples’ reputation. People would call Hailey Bieber crazy, obsessed, and jealous just because of photos taken years ago, tweets posted years ago, and her simply being in a relationship with Justin Bieber.
This is a prime example of what cancel culture can decide the labels of. In Hailey Bieber’s case her only crime was falling in love with a guy who had been in a public relationship. People claim that there is this huge feud between Selena and Hailey, even though they have both, individually, publicly denied a feud! This is because of the simple fact that when celebrities move on, like all people do, the media will not and will try to harm the reputation of a celebrity because of it.
In all honesty I believe the cancel culture that we have today did spring from something that actually was meant to inform people about truths that would help them make educated decisions on social media. Examples of this are Kanye West and Harvey Weinstein, along with many companies who have faulty products that cause harm. Even though this may be the outcome in some cases, in many stories it is clear to see where cancel culture goes off the rails and is immoral.
It used to be something that actually held substance, yet now it has developed into targeting people because they are starting to make a name for themselves. Where you would see factual evidence of public figures actually doing something harmful, you now see speculation and assumed intent. The cancel culture that we have today, in my opinion, is something that allows people who are chronically online to have something to be entertained by.
Cancel culture truly just shows how obsessed people are with following dopamine wherever they may find it.
