What Cancel Culture Is Really Like
Here is a question that really summarizes the meaning of this issue of being cancelled — “how do we truly communicate and treat one another (Romano, 2020)?”
Every next big deal seems to be getting caught in this mess, and no matter who it may be, no matter how much the person may be loved by their fanbase, the cancelling train does not hold exceptions for nearly anybody. DaBaby is one figure that has received the ‘appropriate’ end of the stick when it came to this cancel culture jazz.
The DaBaby Incident
DaBaby, an American rapper from Ohio, became a prominent figure in 2019 for his unique rapping style and flow. He has amassed over 20 million followers over his Instagram account and nearly 40 million listeners on his Spotify account. However, things took a bad turn after he made a few homophobic comments on stage at Rolling Loud — “If you ain’t suck d–k in the parking lot, put your cellphone lights up” (Adams, 2021). He would also spill out negative banter about people with HIV, saying that anyone who has it is considered “dirty”.
After this, a whirlwind of controversy came round; resulting in him being dropped from numerous performance festivals and brand deals like Lollapalooza, iHeart Radio, and ALC Music Festival (McPherson, 2021).
It is fair to say that it was the right decision to drop DaBaby from these partnerships because if there were no consequences for these artists, then, how are they supposed to learn that what they did or said was wrong. “I think it’s clear that a ‘cancel’ campaign is more effective if there is significant embarrassment [involved] (Romano, 2020).” Imagine a world where there was no cancel culture; would DaBaby give two hoots about the LGBTQ+ community? Would he reflect on his homophobic remarks without anyone there to make sure he received adequate punishment? Most likely not. Let’s just say that Dababy got what he deserved.
Now unfortunately, there is a little bit of irony when it comes to these cancelling phases.
I think that this comment above is a perfect example of how cancel culture tends to operate. It feels almost like a ‘if I am not being targeted and offended, then I don’t care’ type circumstance. It might be because LGBTQ has been a more prioritized and trending subject in the last decade. Therefore, giving leverage for the community to utilise the subject as a tool to activate the cancel culture train. However, we might never really know the answer to that, as killing and abuse are topics that are frequently used in rap and they have been melted into today’s modern culture without the appropriate filtering that is necessary for a more good-natured environment.
Moving forward
“It is vital to stand up to intimidators and bullies with courage and integrity. (Watkins, 2020)”
Either way, the community was able to reach out with a letter that explained that they wanted to sit down and inform DaBaby about his unacceptable actions, which was definitely a step in the right direction for the artist. More importantly, it was a step in the right direction for what cancel culture is coming out to represent. The reason I bring this up is because public perception veers on the flawed side due to the number of misleading headlines that you can find in today’s articles. Social media skews our perception and we are too hooked to notice it.
This headline almost makes it seem like Elton John attempted to directly target and cancel DaBaby, yet in reality, he was submitting posts about HIV awareness that stated the importance of avoiding misinforming the public about the subject.
References
Adams, B. (2021, July 27). DaBaby doubles down on homophobic rant with more offensive comments. Retrieved from Yahoo!news: https://news.yahoo.com/dababy-doubles-down-homophobic-rant-141029280.html
McPherson, R. (2021, August 06). These 10 Celebs Have Already Been Cancelled In 2021. Retrieved from The Things website: https://www.thethings.com/these-10-celebs-have-already-been-cancelled-in-2021/
Nas, L. (2021, August 05). Miley Cyrus Calls Out Cancel Culture, Offering To ‘Educate’ DaBaby. Retrieved from TheThings: https://www.thethings.com/miley-cyrus-calls-out-cancel-culture-offering-to-educate-dababy/
Nolfi, J. (2021, August 05). Everyone who has dropped DaBaby after his homophobic remarks. Retrieved from ew.com: https://ew.com/music/dababy-dropped-from-concerts-festivals-business-partnerships/
Romano, A. (2020, August 25). Why we can’t stop fighting about cancel culture. Retrieved from Vox: https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/12/30/20879720/what-is-cancel-culture-explained-history-debate
Smith, B. (2021, July 29). Fans Say DaBaby Is ‘Cancelled’ After Elton John Slams ‘Misinformed’ Rapper . Retrieved from The Things: https://www.thethings.com/fans-say-dababy-is-cancelled-after-elton-john-slams-misinformed-rapper/
Watkins, S. (2020, November 02). Where Did ‘Cancel Culture’ Come From? Retrieved from The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal: https://www.jamesgmartin.center/2020/11/where-did-cancel-culture-come-from/
