After the Grammys, several of the attendees made their way to a strip club to celebrate. A video posted online depicted Dua Lipa making it rain on some strippers. For some reason, people got offended over this and decided to cancel Dua Lipa.
I truly do not understand what people took issue with. The most surprising part of this is that Dua Lipa was the only person canceled even though there were others with her. Is it because she’s a woman? This does not make much sense. She was even tipping the dancers. Given that this is their job and how they make money, she was actually doing a good thing. Spread the wealth, of course.
This is just the latest in a long string of people being canceled. This might also be a good contender for the dumbest reason anyone has ever been canceled.
Cancel culture speaks to bigger issues within our greater culture. Instead of just canceling people we disagree with, shouldn’t we be opening up a discussion? The entire world seems to be divided now more than ever. The UK is leaving the EU, Trump is nearing the end of the impeachment trial, and Australia is burning while the world just gazes on.
Where is the justice in simply deciding that someone is canceled? Do people not deserve a chance to defend themselves before the sentencing? Sometimes people are canceled over a picture or tweet taken out of context; should they not be given the opportunity to explain?
How does a person even get canceled? Plans can get canceled. A television can get canceled. What happens when a person is canceled? Sometimes the effects ripple and hurt careers or performances.
Kevin Hart was canceled last year over tweets he made a decade earlier. The same tweets he had already apologized for on several occasions. Canceling Kevin Hart deprived people of seeing what would have undoubtedly been an amazing Oscars host. It also started the trend of not having a host which has not been working out so well. Luckily, the last time I checked, Kevin Hart still had a strong career. This is because canceling someone only lasts a second anyway.
Maybe instead of tweeting #___isoverparty or #cancel__ people could tweet #__ pleaseexplain or #___isitpossibleyoujustmadeamistakebecauseyoureonlyhuman? Wouldn’t you rather see someone like Kevin Hart explain his side and how he has changed than someone who never learned?
Everyone learns and changes. That is what makes people special and gives us hope for the future. Stop letting cancel culture dash a person’s ability to learn and grow. After all, some of the best stories are tales of redemption.
