“Cancel Culture” is Killing Comedy. Here’s Why We Need to Stop “Cancelling” Comedians

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, you know that somewhere between #MeToo, the 2016-2020 sociopolitical climate, and the Chappelle specials on Netflix, a new term has joined the ranks of hashtag idioms that have permeated our collective consciousness: “cancel culture”.

According to a recent Pew Research study, as many as 49% of Americans define the term as one which describes holding others accountable for their actions. Most people, myself included, would agree that accountability – a willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one’s actions – is a value of critical importance in society both from our leaders as well as in daily life with friends, family, bosses, co-workers, etc. However, that same Pew study also found that 38% of people say posting online is more likely to punish someone who doesn’t deserve it.

In our social media world where the lines between news and entertainment have been blurred, information (trustworthy or otherwise) travels indiscriminately at the speed of light. Many people will post things online they would never say to someone face to face. But when every post, comment, photo, and keystroke lives on forever (even after one’s views and opinions may have changed), it begs the question, where do we draw the line? Have we gone too far? As the executive producer of a TV series-turned-live-production, here’s why I think it’s time to take a look at what “cancel culture” is doing to stand up comedy.

“Cancel Culture” Came From Good Intentions

When the term “cancel culture” burst onto the entertainment scene, it began as a way to speak truth to power and hold celebrities and others in positions of prominence accountable for their serious violations. For Matt Lauer, Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby the public verdict was swift and delivered well before they ever saw a courtroom: cancelled. It was the collective saying together, just because you are rich and famous doesn’t mean you can get away with serious offenses and you can’t buy your way out now that you’ve been caught.

As quickly as “cancel culture” came to be, it just as soon began to evolve and mutate beyond calling out those who took criminal actions, into canceling people with whom we may simply disagree. Our justice system is founded on a defendant’s presumption of innocence, and while many would agree that the system often falls short of that ideal, in the court of public opinion, a sentence of “canceled” can be just as devastating as a verdict of guilty and far less scrupulous than a legal proceeding. The internet becomes a person’s judge, jury, and executioner. Moreover, it can all go down in a matter of a few hours to a few days and be based on something that may have been said or done years ago, or in the case of a comic, it may have quite literally been a joke.

The real missing piece in our culture right now isn’t merely the ability to hold prominent people accountable, it’s the ability to disagree with one another effectively. There’s a difference between being offended and being targeted, and there’s a difference between telling a joke and taking action. But when “cancel culture” plays out, it does both: it targets the person or cause in question and publicly rallies others to take action against them.

Here’s 3 Ways We Can Do Better

1. Learn to listen. By publicly shaming and outing people on social media, we are forcing everyone to conform to specific boundaries of what is acceptable. The problem with that? There isn’t just one perspective that is “right.” We all have different views and many times, those views come from our own unique life experiences. Oftentimes we don’t agree with our friends or even our family on many things. How can we expect every celebrity to hold views that align with our values? Who is to say what is right?
2. Learn to disagree. When was the last time you actually listened to what someone was saying when you disagreed with them? Really think about this, because our instinct, instead of listening, is to get angry while the wheels start turning in our heads for the best response. And many times, it’s not a respectful one. In comedy, part of what can make it funny is the shock value, so many comedians do “go there”. Do I always like it? Do I always agree with what comes out of their mouths? No. But it’s not my job to tell them what to say. I just need to listen, laugh, and sometimes disagree.
3. Learn to look inside. If something that someone says really triggers you, it’s at least worth it to dig deep and figure out why. If no one is being physically hurt by what was said or done, it’s worth examining your own perspective and why you are feeling reactive to that thing. What has shaped your worldview? What are your beliefs? A little internal work is the least you can do before trying to publicly call someone out on social media.

Let Laughter Lead The Way

If you couldn’t tell by now, we don’t support “cancel culture” or censorship as it pertains to producing Laugh After Dark, mostly because we don’t feel that we need to. We see our comedians’ sets as their unique perspective based on their lived experiences. Will their experiences and perspectives take us outside of our comfort zone? Probably. But at the end of the day, the greatest thing about standup is that it’s not a comic’s ability to make people comfortable or get people to agree with them that matters, it’s their ability to make us laugh. Standup is a self-policing branch of entertainment in that way. If a comedian is funny, people laugh. If they’re not funny, they won’t get laughs. The best comics can take controversial material and work it in a way that brings people in and makes them let their guard down. But of course not all comics can be the best of the best and canceling comedians because you dislike or disagree with their set has no place in standup because no one has the corner on being right. What happens on the stage and how a comic makes the audience feel in the room will ultimately determine their success.

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