c/cancel-culture-courtroom

Looked up the exact number of times a celebrity was actually canceled and it was way lower than I thought

I found out that J.K. Rowling only lost about 5% of her book sales after all the trans comments in 2020, according to a Publishers Weekly report, so does the term 'canceled' even mean anything anymore or is it just a myth the internet keeps alive?

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robert_anderson69•4d ago

That comment about my favorite singer changed my tune on cancel culture

I was defending a musician I loved who got called out for old tweets, but then I read a thread from a Black fan who explained how those jokes actually made her feel unsafe at his shows. She linked to a 2017 interview where he doubled down, not just an old post. My mind shifted because I realized it wasn't about one mistake, it was a pattern he never fixed. Has anyone else flipped their opinion after seeing a specific victim speak out?

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margaretm23•5d ago

One comment from a stranger at a coffee shop changed how I view call outs

I was sitting at Blue Bottle in Brooklyn last month and overheard this woman telling her friend she felt like she couldn't even joke around anymore because someone might dig up a tweet from 2011. At first I rolled my eyes thinking she was just being dramatic. But then she said she got fired from a part time gig over a dumb meme she reposted, not even something she wrote herself. That stuck with me because I always assumed cancellations only hit famous people or racists, not regular folks losing their jobs over old reposts. Has anyone else changed their mind after hearing a story from someone in real life?

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oliviat17•5d ago

I used to pile on public figures for old tweets until I found some of my own from 10 years ago

Last month I was digging through my old Facebook posts and cringed at a joke I made about a celebrity's divorce that I now realize was just cruel. How do you balance holding people accountable for bad takes versus accepting that people change over time?

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grantadams•5d ago

Was skeptical about the whole Chris Brown boycott but now I get it

I used to roll my eyes when people said they wouldn't listen to Chris Brown because of what happened with Rihanna back in 2009. Thought it was old news and people just wanted to virtue signal. But then I saw that documentary about his history of violence and how he's had multiple assault allegations since then, like the 2016 incident with a fan. It made me realize it's not about one mistake, it's a pattern. Has anyone else changed their mind on a celebrity cancellation after looking into it deeper?

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vera308•8d ago

Dropped $80 on a vintage dress I found online and it turned into a mess

I bought this 1950s dress from a small vintage seller on Etsy and it arrived smelling like mothballs with a stain the listing didn't mention. When I posted a review warning others, her fans swarmed my comments calling me a bully for ruining her small business. Is calling out a seller for hiding damage fair or just another case of cancel culture going too far?

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paigem45•8d ago

Changed my mind about cancelling that indie author

I went to a local book fair in Portland last weekend. Saw this author who got cancelled for an old blog post about cultural appropriation. She was just sitting there, no one at her table. I talked to her for 10 minutes, she admitted it was dumb and apologized back then. Made me think, do we really need to keep punishing people who already learned?

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sandra_anderson2•10d ago

Changed my mind about supporting that influencer apology video

I spent $50 on a course from a YouTuber who later got cancelled for faking testimonials, and at first I defended them. But then I found 3 other buyers who shared screenshots of the same fake reviews, and it clicked that I was wrong. Has anyone else had a buying decision flip after seeing hard proof?

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riverreed•10d ago

A commenter on my video said my voice sounded like a dying fax machine so I took vocal lessons for 3 months.

Turns out I was speaking from my throat instead of my diaphragm and now I actually get people watching past the first 10 seconds - has anyone else had to unlearn a bad speaking habit from internet feedback?

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tessa_clark74•11d ago

Saw a youtuber get canceled for a 10 year old joke that was already addressed

Watched a drama channel dig up a clip from 2014 where a guy said something dumb about pineapples on pizza. He apologized for it back in 2016 and even made a whole video about growing up. The new wave of comments acted like he just said it yesterday. Has anyone else noticed how the statute of limitations on a joke keeps shrinking?

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umamartin•11d ago

Appreciation post: back when you could just apologize and move on

I had to choose between calling out an old coworker publicly or letting it slide after he apologized. I picked the second one because the guy genuinely seemed sorry, and it worked out fine. We still grab a beer at O'Malley's every few months. Makes me wonder if we've lost that middle ground where a simple sorry actually meant something.

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alexw75•11d ago

That $40 i spent on a domain flipping course actually worked out

I took a chance on a cheap Udemy course about flipping domains for a side hustle. Dropped $40 like 6 months ago and finally sold my first domain last week for $250. It was some generic insurance keyword combo that I bought for $8. The course taught me to look for expired domains with existing traffic instead of just picking random names. Feels good to finally see a return instead of just burning cash on renewals. Anyone else try domain flipping and actually get a payout?

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alicesingh•12d ago

A barista in Austin called me out for my cancel takes and now I actually listen more

I was at my usual coffee spot last Saturday and this barista overheard me ranting about a musician getting dropped from their label. She asked if I ever actually looked up the full story before forming an opinion, and honestly I felt like an idiot. Has anyone else had a stranger check them like that?

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laura189•13d ago

Cancel culture burned me when I backed the wrong public figure with real cash

I threw $50 at a GoFundMe for that indie author who got cancelled for an old tweet about mental health. Turned out the tweet was way worse than the internet let on, and I felt like I supported something gross. I learned to dig deeper before donating, because now I'm out the cash and my name is tied to funding someone kinda awful. The whole mess made me realize I need to wait for full context before pulling out my wallet. Has anyone else regretted spending money on a cancelled person before the whole story came out?

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danielr94•14d ago

Just heard a podcaster admit they faked a callout for views

I was listening to a true crime podcast last night and the host casually mentioned that they staged a public callout of a small business owner just to get engagement. It made me wonder how much of this cancel culture stuff is actually real and how much is just for clicks. Has anyone else caught a creator admitting something like that?

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julia_miller24•14d ago

A comment from a client changed how I handle social media callouts

Last year, a small business owner told me my tone in response to a customer complaint made things worse. They said I sounded defensive instead of listening. Now I always wait 30 minutes before replying to any public criticism, and it's cut down on follow up drama a ton. Anyone else tweak their approach after getting direct feedback like that?

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blake322•16d ago

That time I got canceled for recommending a $15 book on LinkedIn

I posted about a self-help book I actually read last summer and someone commented saying I was promoting toxic productivity culture. The thread got 47 replies in two hours, half calling me out for being insensitive to burnout. I think people mix up sharing a tool vs endorsing a lifestyle, and the nuance gets lost real fast. Has anyone else had a simple recommendation blow up like that?

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the_ray•16d ago

Honestly, the whole J.K. Rowling situation feels different from the Kevin Hart thing to me

Tbh, I saw both of them get called out online but the reactions were night and day. J.K. Rowling keeps tweeting stuff about trans people and people keep arguing whether it's harmful or just her opinion. But Kevin Hart made old homophobic jokes, apologized, stepped down from hosting the Oscars, and people still wanted more. Ngl, I feel like one person is doubling down and the other tried to move on, but the public treated them the same way. Is cancel culture about the person's response or just the offense itself?

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clark.robin•19d ago

Warning: unplugging someone mid-argument got me cancelled at Thanksgiving

My cousin was going on about how a celebrity should be cancelled for a bad joke from 10 years ago. In the middle of her rant my phone alarm went off-I set it to remind me to swap out the air filter at home. She got furious, said I was 'silencing her voice' and that I was part of the problem. I tried explaining it was just a furnace filter timer, but now half the family won't talk to me. Has anyone else had a trivial household task derail a cancel culture debate?

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derek_schmidt6•20d ago

I used to just jump in and defend every celebrity I liked online, but lately I've pulled way back

A few years ago if someone canceled an actor or musician I enjoyed, I'd be typing up paragraphs trying to explain why the backlash was overblown. I spent maybe 10 hours a week getting into fights on Twitter and Reddit about stuff that honestly didn't matter to my life at all. Then about 6 months ago I had this conversation with a buddy at a cookout in Louisville who said "you're just giving them free attention and stress for no reason." That really stuck with me. Now I just mute the topic and move on unless there's a real legal situation or someone's getting hurt in a serious way. Has anyone else found that ignoring callouts altogether actually makes you enjoy following public figures more?

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paigep20•21d ago

Took me 6 months to realize my cancel call was way off base

I called out a small YouTuber last October for something she supposedly said in a live stream. I saw a clip that got passed around and jumped on the bandwagon without watching the full 2 hour video. It took me until last week to finally sit through the whole thing and realize the clip was edited to change her meaning completely. I spent all that time feeling righteous and it turns out I was the one in the wrong. Has anyone else made a snap judgment on a cancel call and later found out they were missing key context?

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the_rose•21d ago

Small win: I finally noticed when a cancel call is just bait

Kept seeing people pile on some influencer over a 6 year old tweet that was clearly taken out of context and I realized the person sharing it was just fishing for clout. Has anyone else started spotting these weak cancel attempts before they blow up?

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oscarw83•22d ago

Heard a radio host in Minneapolis say cancel culture is just people facing consequences for their actions.

I was driving through Minnesota last week and caught this talk show guy going off about how nobody gets "cancelled" they just get called out for doing bad stuff and people stop supporting them. He was saying it's not some big movement, it's just the free market of reputation. That got me thinking. Is there really a difference between cancel culture and just... people deciding they don't want to give their money or attention to someone anymore? Or is that oversimplifying it? What do you think separates actual bullying from just letting people know you don't agree with them?

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grace_white•22d ago

Hot take: I was wrong about the whole "don't cancel, just educate" crowd

I used to roll my eyes every time someone got called out online. Thought it was just mob rule. But after watching that big YouTuber who made $2 million off that fake charity scam, I totally changed my mind. The apology video was so calculated and fake, everyone saw through it. Has anyone else had a moment where a cancellation actually felt 100% deserved?

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riley_west•26d ago

Got called out for an old tweet I forgot I even wrote

Last month someone dug up a tweet from 2014 where I made a dumb joke about a musician I didn't even know. Spent two days explaining myself in DMs and it just made things worse. Finally I just apologized plain and simple, no excuses, and the person actually backed off. Has anyone else dealt with people finding stuff from like a decade ago?

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