DIFFERENT VIEWS ON ‘CANCEL CULTURE’

MBABANE - Can you really cancel a person? 

The idea of cancelling celebrities or well-known personalities especially on social media platforms seems to be gaining a foothold as hash tags cancelling people are dominating online streets and this is popularly known as ‘cancel culture’. 

Cancel culture refers to the popular practice of withdrawing support for (cancelling) public figures and companies after they have done or said something considered objectionable or offensive. Cancel culture is generally discussed as being performed on social media in the form of group shaming.

This act of ‘cancelling’ a celebrity, however, has proven to be somewhat effective in recent months as the public pressure under the #MuteRKelly and #MeToo movements has seen the likes of R. Kelly and Harvey Weinstein lose their jobs, record deals, and a number of other streams of income due to people deciding not to consume anything related to them. 

reputation

This has a ripple effect that dries up the financial well which public figures often draw from in their legal battles and reputation management and public relations work once proof of their wrongdoing is brought to light.

Closer to home, there was a call for this concept to be applied to South African musician Mandla ‘Mampintsha’ Maphumulo of ‘Big Nuz’ fame and known for dating hit maker, Babes Wodumo, who made headlines after a video of him beating his girlfriend surfaced nearly eight months after abuse allegations were first levelled against him.

This then led social media users and his fans to starting a #cancelMampinsha movement where some even boycotted his shows and buying his music. 

The same happened locally when a popular photographer was alleged to have raped a well-known personality. This also led to the photographer losing gigs and sponsors due to the pressure from social media users to ‘cancel’ him out. 

Usually public figures are said to be cancelled after it has been discovered that they have done something offensive. It involves calling out the bad behaviour, boycotting their work (such as by not watching their movies or listening to their music), and trying to take away their public platform and power. This is often done in a performative way on social media.

Local comedian Trench Coat, whose real name is Mayibongwe Hlanze said his opinion on ‘cancel culture’ was that it was real and that it was a phenomenon that came from western developed countries, where freedom of speech was high and had filtered into Africa. 

“We are quick to adapt to things that we have no idea about and I believe that a person is entitled to their opinion however, that opinion should not incite violence. Cancel culture promotes that people should be crucified without proper litigation. What I do represents where I work but my work does not extend benefit to all the spaces I occupy in my life,” he said. 

He highlighted that people could have their opinions, however, consumers had an option to exercise their rights of disassociating with them in that they did not have to follow them like sheep. 

celebrities

“On the issue of forcing celebrities to opine on every issue presented to them, I believe the problem is with people idolising them only to realise that they are humans, who are not informed on every issue. When we do not get their voice on these issues we then come up in arms when we realise that they are less than perfect,” he explained. 

Meanwhile, artist manager from Power Entertainment, Sizwe Zwane said he believed that ‘cancel culture’ was not real because there were some instances involving influential people in all sectors of entertainment and the political world, where the outrage was often immediate and its effects hard on the person being cancelled.

“However, you may find that a few months down the line after the person has been exposed and his voice dimmed down, they get to be rehired by the former brands, whom they were associated with as they blindly practise being apologists,” he said. 

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