I don't recall instances where the canceling was being mandated by the government, e.g. via threatening government action like yanking a broadcast license. Or am I forgetting?
IDK what the talking heads say but if you read the actual legal communications it says Sinclair made the decision not the gov. Definitely a different case than rank & file employees people will litigate about this one for awhile. If you are a public voice right now you should def try and get facts right being a comedian doesn't shield you from this.
Was there an equivalent of this statement under a Democratic administration?
"Appearing on Benny Johnson’s podcast on Wednesday, Carr [head of the FCC] suggested that the FCC has remedies we can look at. We can do this the easy way or the hard way,' Carr said. These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.''”
Kind of - consequences have *always* been real, and I personally agree with any document I sign or I don't sign it, as everyone should. Easy to do.
I personally think the "cancel culture" thing of the 2010s was broadly frivolous and not at all the same (IE, there were very specific people like Bari Weiss and Dave Chapelle hunted down and cancelled simply because people didn't like their ideas (none were violent-promoting). I am against this.
But note you would def be fired then for the things people are being fired for now. Both sides draw the line at violence. The rest might be up for debate, which I said. I doubt you would want to work with people actively promoting violence, either though.
You can draw the line at violence, but racism and sexism de-humanize people and that was the main push in the previous waves of accountability. Remember that it started with BLM and MeToo which were highlighting how badly people of color and women were treated, and we rejected that.
For sure if you work for a major company and engage in open racism and sexism online I think you could expect to be let go as well. No one wants to work with people like that. I was only mentioning violence since that was the reason people were let go recently, the political violence thing is crazy and ongoing since Luigi (if not well before).
Some nuance here, I think it’s important to get right. A comedian on stage operates in a very different context. I'm a Jew, and people make jokes about Jews all the time, and honestly, I usually laugh - because I have a sense of humor about it and understand the context. There’s a difference between joking about a group I belong to and someone hunting me down or personally harassing me for being Jewish. I don’t think that kind of personal attack should happen to trans people either.
I think this (maybe) highlights a philosophical difference. I’m fine with jokes about my background or identity, as long as they stay in that realm and on a stage. To my knowledge, Dave Chappelle has never said he wants all trans people killed, nor has he singled out a specific trans person by name on stage. But if he - or anyone - said something like “all Jews should be rounded up and killed,” and was serious about it I would be against it, and I’d argue that person probably shouldn’t be booked. Maybe we agree on this or maybe you think specific groups are off limits for comedy, I'm not sure, but I think we agree on some of this at the least.
The nuance exists more in his jokes, which were more like statements denying the existence of transgender people. Comedy is fine, but using a comedy stage to say things like he did takes it too far. They cover it in the article above.
Anything I publicly write or post, I think about what my family, friends or employer would say or do if/when they see it.
I have deleted 20x the amount of drafts than actual posts. I wish more people did the same.
Yes - if you aren't comfortable with it printed in the NYT, don't post it is a good rule of thumb
TALK ABOUT IT!!
I don't recall instances where the canceling was being mandated by the government, e.g. via threatening government action like yanking a broadcast license. Or am I forgetting?
IDK what the talking heads say but if you read the actual legal communications it says Sinclair made the decision not the gov. Definitely a different case than rank & file employees people will litigate about this one for awhile. If you are a public voice right now you should def try and get facts right being a comedian doesn't shield you from this.
Was there an equivalent of this statement under a Democratic administration?
"Appearing on Benny Johnson’s podcast on Wednesday, Carr [head of the FCC] suggested that the FCC has remedies we can look at. We can do this the easy way or the hard way,' Carr said. These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.''”
https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/brendan-carr-abc-fcc-jimmy-kimmel-charlie-kirk-1236522406/
Well there was stuff like this: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/rodeo-clown-who-mocked-obama-missouri-state-fair-banned-performing-flna6c10901988
But really I think a simple apology would have been sufficient from Kimmel if I were in charge I'd just ask for that
It's still cancel culture, just now with topics you agree with.
Kind of - consequences have *always* been real, and I personally agree with any document I sign or I don't sign it, as everyone should. Easy to do.
I personally think the "cancel culture" thing of the 2010s was broadly frivolous and not at all the same (IE, there were very specific people like Bari Weiss and Dave Chapelle hunted down and cancelled simply because people didn't like their ideas (none were violent-promoting). I am against this.
But note you would def be fired then for the things people are being fired for now. Both sides draw the line at violence. The rest might be up for debate, which I said. I doubt you would want to work with people actively promoting violence, either though.
You can draw the line at violence, but racism and sexism de-humanize people and that was the main push in the previous waves of accountability. Remember that it started with BLM and MeToo which were highlighting how badly people of color and women were treated, and we rejected that.
For sure if you work for a major company and engage in open racism and sexism online I think you could expect to be let go as well. No one wants to work with people like that. I was only mentioning violence since that was the reason people were let go recently, the political violence thing is crazy and ongoing since Luigi (if not well before).
But that's what hit Dave Chapelle? It wasn't his "ideas" it was his transphobic jokes. https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-62249771
Some nuance here, I think it’s important to get right. A comedian on stage operates in a very different context. I'm a Jew, and people make jokes about Jews all the time, and honestly, I usually laugh - because I have a sense of humor about it and understand the context. There’s a difference between joking about a group I belong to and someone hunting me down or personally harassing me for being Jewish. I don’t think that kind of personal attack should happen to trans people either.
I think this (maybe) highlights a philosophical difference. I’m fine with jokes about my background or identity, as long as they stay in that realm and on a stage. To my knowledge, Dave Chappelle has never said he wants all trans people killed, nor has he singled out a specific trans person by name on stage. But if he - or anyone - said something like “all Jews should be rounded up and killed,” and was serious about it I would be against it, and I’d argue that person probably shouldn’t be booked. Maybe we agree on this or maybe you think specific groups are off limits for comedy, I'm not sure, but I think we agree on some of this at the least.
The nuance exists more in his jokes, which were more like statements denying the existence of transgender people. Comedy is fine, but using a comedy stage to say things like he did takes it too far. They cover it in the article above.