"Cancel Culture": How It Developed Over the Years and Shaped Society

What makes cancel culture unique.

Public figures often allow themselves 'too much,' hiding behind their status. For a long time now, people have sought ways to prevent lawlessness and ensure the guilty are punished fairly. Looking back through history, you can see how the concept of 'canceling' gradually took on new meanings.

Contemporary 'cancel culture' differs substantially from its early practices and has a different effect on society. The DeTalks team looked into how cancel culture has changed and spread.

What the Term Means

“Cancel culture” is a form of social response, most often on social media, in which the public withdraws support from a person over words or actions it considers unacceptable.

If someone commits an offensive or discriminatory act at any point in their life, part of the community may turn away from them, effectively 'erasing' them from public space.

The goal of canceling is to hold influential people accountable on the same level as everyone else. In certain cases, 'cancellation' can also carry legal consequences, if the accusations are backed by facts.

How 'Cancel Culture' Emerged

The term 'cancel' was first used in an interpersonal context in 1981, when the band Chic released the song 'Your Love Is Cancelled.'

As the internet grew popular in China in 2001, there emerged the phrase 'renrou sousuo' — the 'human flesh search engine.' This was a practice of collective user 'investigation' that later evolved into public exposure.

The most famous case took place in 2006, when users identified a woman in a video brutally killing a kitten. Her name, address, and workplace quickly spread online, leading to her being fired.

In Western countries, this situation sparked a strong reaction.

One reader commented that they found the intensity of the searches surprising, describing it as an 'Eastern' trait, adding that most people in the West don't concern themselves with this since they're too individualistic, and are content with the mechanisms already in place, posted under a piece that The New York Times published in 2010.

English, meanwhile, already had the word 'doxxing.' The term originated from the phrase 'dropping dox,' meaning the disclosure of documents or someone's personal information. The word was used to describe information obtained both legally from public databases and through fraudulent means. The word's origin can be traced to 1990s computer hacker slang.

As a contemporary phenomenon, 'cancel culture' emerged in major US news outlets in 2018, and within just two years, social media users had repeatedly “cancelled” popular figures and actively boycotted anyone who hadn't spoken out about the “Black Lives Matter” (BLM) movement.

Today, cancel culture extends to every kind of activity, though its impact varies.

Cancel Culture's Impact on Careers

Canadian actor Percy Hynes White rose to fame for his role as Xavier Thorpe in Netflix's Wednesday. In its first week, the project made the platform's top 10 in 93 countries, reaching No. 1 in 83 of them.

But the actor's popularity came back to bite him: in January 2023, a user on 'X' accused White of assaulting her and other women at a party he threw in Toronto. The post was later deleted. Similar accusations followed once the first one gained traction. Fans of Wednesday demanded that Hynes White be removed from the show. The actor called the accusations against him a 'disinformation campaign,' without specifying which claims exactly he meant.

Percy has described how photos of himself as a minor were used, and how examples of his acting were presented as containing hate speech, adding that his friend Jayne was mistakenly portrayed as a victim, and that her attempts to correct the record were ignored, noting that she'd given him permission to mention her in his statement, he wrote in his Instagram Story.

He has also said the rumors were false, adding that he can't come to terms with being portrayed as a bigot or someone criminally careless about people's safety, calling these baseless, dangerous claims that could undermine trust in real victims. He expressed regret that this disinformation had upset people, adding that he's sincerely grateful to everyone who supported him and helped spread the facts.

In this case, canceling worked effectively. Percy Hynes White simply didn't appear in Wednesday's second season. Netflix hasn't given any official comment on the matter.

As it turns out, though, you can 'cancel' not just a person, but an entire project. Cancel culture didn't spare The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

American talk show host and comedian DeGeneres's show began airing in 2003. In just its first five seasons, the program won more than 20 Daytime Emmy Awards, and over the years, that number grew to 64. Well-known figures from across various fields were guests on DeGeneres's show. Among them – Taylor Swift (appeared on the show 11 times), Justin Bieber (27 appearances), and Jennifer Aniston (20 times).

The Ellen DeGeneres Show's popularity dropped sharply after an incident that took place in summer 2020. BuzzFeed News published a report in which former talk show staffers alleged a 'toxic work environment' behind the scenes, with producers on set allowing offensive jokes, harassment, and bullying of employees. Executive producers Ed Glavin, Andy Lassner, and Mary Connelly took responsibility for the allegations.

The executive producers have said they were sincerely upset and sorry to learn that even one person on their production team had a negative experience, adding that this isn't who they are, what they aspire to be, or the mission Ellen set out for them, reads a joint statement to BuzzFeed.

Ellen DeGeneres herself wasn't implicated in the scandal, but the story still affected the show's ratings.

During the premiere of the show's 18th season in September 2020, Ellen addressed the situation.

She has said that as viewers may have heard, allegations of a toxic work environment on the show surfaced over the summer, leading to an investigation, adding that she'd learned things had happened there that never should have, saying she takes this very seriously and is sincerely sorry for the people affected.

In a May 2021 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the host announced that the show's 19th season would be its last. The comedian stressed that however great the show had been, it no longer felt like a challenge for her.

Returning to stand-up in the trailer for her 2024 Netflix special 'For Your Approval,' Ellen DeGeneres joked that she'd been kicked out of Hollywood.

In the bit, she describes taking up gardening and getting chickens since viewers last saw her, trying to recall what else she could tell them about what she'd been up to.

Pretending to check her own notes, Ellen added the following.

"Oh right — I got kicked out of show business!"

Performing in the final special of her career in September 2024, the host said she'd spent some time in therapy trying to cope with all the hatred.

Does Cancel Culture Always Work

The consequences of being canceled vary. Some people lose their jobs and any ability to appear in public. Others, especially the wealthy and powerful, manage to avoid consequences entirely.

Kanye West has repeatedly found himself at the center of major scandals tied to his antisemitic and racist views.

In a widely condemned remark, the rapper suggested that 400 years of slavery sounded like a choice, he said in an interview for TMZ Live in May 2018.

By 2022, political commentator Nick Fuentes claimed on his podcast that the rapper was fully pro-Russian and pro-Putin — West responded that the host was too. Also, on Alex Jones's InfoWars program, 'Ye' (West's chosen name) said that he 'sees something good in Hitler.'

West went on to argue that he loves everyone, and that Jewish people don't get to dictate what he's allowed to love — including things done to him through contracts, or promoted through pornography — before praising Hitler by name, crediting him with inventing highways and a type of microphone West uses as a musician, and insisting no one is allowed to say out loud that Hitler ever did anything good.

The rapper continued: claiming every person has something valuable to offer — 'especially Hitler.'

After the man's expressions of sympathy for Nazism in 2022, Adidas ended its partnership with West. Vogue, in an exclusive for Page Six, reported that Anna Wintour wasn't interested in working with the rapper after Kanye's remarks. Brands including Balenciaga and Gap also canceled their contracts with West.

But despite the many scandals 'Ye' has found himself in, his music and creative work remain popular. Some companies also continue doing business with the rapper and profiting from earlier collaborations.

Actress Winona Ryder conquered Hollywood in the '80s and '90s, appearing in Tim Burton films like Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands, as well as Dracula, The Age of Innocence, Little Women (1994), and Girl, Interrupted.

The actress's career was cut short after an incident on December 12, 2001. Winona was arrested for stealing $5,500 worth of designer clothing and accessories from a Saks Fifth Avenue store in Beverly Hills. The trial and conviction that followed ultimately led to 500 hours of community service. The actress left Los Angeles, returning to her childhood home in San Francisco.

After the conviction, Winona had a hard time landing roles in new projects. Director Woody Allen wanted to cast Robert Downey Jr. and Ryder together in his film Melinda and Melinda, but couldn't secure the necessary insurance. Three years later, the actors managed to work together — in Richard Linklater's animated-live-action feature film based on Philip K. Dick's novel A Scanner Darkly.

Ryder began appearing on screen again, taking roles in projects like Abrams's Star Trek and Aronofsky's Black Swan. Winona's career revival began after she played Joyce Byers in Netflix's Stranger Things.

In some cases, cancel culture genuinely works — people affected by racism, violence, or other forms of discrimination gradually stop fearing persecution, and their stories gain visibility. But sometimes canceling goes too far, boycotting well-known people without real grounds. Or, conversely, after some time, society forgets about the 'cancellation' and celebrities regain their media presence.