Opinions

Recent controversy proves cancel culture virulent trend

Betti Kobak '22, Managing Editor|November 25, 2020

Cancel culture is a very popular way of calling people out on social media. Rather than using a method that addresses one’s errors, cancel culture is being used to tear people down to the extreme. Recently, TikTok stars Charli and Dixie D’Amelio were temporarily canceled for their alleged disrespect in a YouTube video.

If you happened to glance at TikTok for even just a minute this week, chances are you’ve witnessed the turmoil that the D’Amelio sisters got themselves into over their so-called disrespectful behavior in a YouTube video they made. The TikTok community responded to this situation in the most typical fashion that is exhibited on the app: establish those who want to “cancel” the sisters and those who still support them. Although it is always important to call out others for their negative actions, cancel culture has developed into a radical approach to doing so that has caused more harm than good.

Charli D’Amelio is a 16-year-old with the largest platform on TikTok of over 100 million followers, and her 19-year-old sister Dixie with 45 million followers. The sisters have no background of ever being disrespectful or problematic in the past and have actually been great influences to their younger viewers.

The controversy erupted when the two sisters appeared ungrateful and rude to the personal chef cooking for them. While this is clearly not acceptable behavior for two very privileged and successful individuals, the hate they received for their actions was completely blown out of proportion.

Charli immediately lost a million followers and started receiving death threats and hate speeches. Dixie was also slammed by thousands of people for being obnoxious. Not only were youthful viewers involved, but adults, too, decided they needed to express admonishments

According to the New York Post, cancel culture is the promotion of “canceling” someone for alleged problematic or controversial remarks. There is no clear deciding line for completely canceling someone, and just calling them out. It seems as though this trend has become a picking-and-choosing method for whomever the internet fancies to dismantle.

It is important to recognize that making mistakes is normal. Creators like Charli and Dixie were put in the spotlight at very young ages and are still learning as they continue to grow. The two apologized for their actions and assured their fans that they meant no harm to the chef. Charli instantly gained back the one million followers she lost within the next two days, confirming that cancel culture is just a temporary fad.