Is Cancel Culture Becoming Too Intense?

Social media has become a significant part of our everyday lives, acting as a make-shift friend in our pocket when we’re bored and hungry for entertainment. The rise of social media has resulted in this so-called ‘cancel culture’. This is a term referring to a celebrity’s downfall when society suddenly withdraws all support and casts judgement on their wrongdoings. For some, this is an important part of holding them accountable, as people in the public eye have a strong influence, particularly on people who put them on a pedestal. Surely, with fame and money comes responsibility to do good and act correctly? 

Many people in the public eye experience cancel culture when they’ve done something wrong, for example, recently Maya Henry, ex-girlfriend of former One Direction star Liam Payne has come forward to share her story of alleged abuse and harassment within their relationship. This resulted in fans and other people on social media all rushing to ‘cancel’ Liam Payne for his behaviour, without ever actually meeting him personally or gaining any understanding of the issues at hand, something that cannot be done over social media. A wave of hate is spread when someone experiences being cancelled, ironically in Liam’s case, this hate was replaced with a huge motion of love after his recent tragic passing. The hate, however, hadn’t disappeared but instead passed on to Maya Henry. 

I believe that these acts of ‘justice’ when cancelling another person have gone too far and merely act as an excuse to send hate-filled messages to someone you really know nothing about. Celebrities are still people, despite the fact that they’re in the public eye, but this seems to be forgotten the second they do something wrong. Everybody makes mistakes, but should we be holding celebrities to a higher standard than we would anyone else? Some would say yes, and in some cases, I would agree, but simply unfollowing someone or no longer supporting their work can be action enough. 

There is a difference between justice and hate, yet social media seems to have blurred these lines by allowing everyone a platform to easily share their opinions, and it has warped our societal expectations of others. Cancel culture is an intense toxic trend which can have detrimental effects on real people, and I believe that this idea of ‘justice’ has gone too far.

Edited by: Jasmine Pegg