Let’s talk about cancel culture. 

For those who may not be familiar with the term, it’s the practice of “cancelling” someone (i.e., trying to end their career or reputation) for a mistake they have made. A lot of the time, it is a mistake that they have made in the past that is just brought to light. 

We’ve all seen it play out. Taylor Swift, Camila Cabello, Kevin Hart, and many other well known celebrities have been the victim of this trend. While many people think it’s all fun and games getting #EnterCelebrityNameHereIsCancelled trending on social media, it is actually an extremely toxic and counterproductive trend. 

Allow me to explain. 

Fun fact: we’re all human. We all make mistakes. But at the end of the day, mistakes are beautiful because we can learn how to be better and grow through them. When we “cancel” someone for a mistake they made in the past, we are taking away their right to learn and grow and become an all around better person. 

Before I continue, let me get something straight. I am no way defending any specific person who is consistently making the same mistakes over and over again without any sense of wrong. If someone continuously makes the same mistakes and doesn’t apologize or grow from them, they are an entirely different story. Instead, I am advocating for second chances and forgiveness. 

A lot of the time, the reasons behind cancelling people is for mistakes that have happened years ago. A trend we’ve been seeing is offensive tweets that are being found out and brought to light years later. When it is something that was done years ago, that person most likely has grown and become a different individual. Instead of cancelling them, allow them to explain their past and apologize for those mistakes. Allow them to use their past as an example of how one can grow and learn. 

Other times, it is something that is recent. Someone says an offensive joke or does something completely wrong. While they should definitely have consequences and repercussions for those instances, they should not immediately be cancelled. Instead, we should practice giving second chances and educating them on why what they did wasn’t okay. Allow them to apologize instead of ripping away any chance of them being able to learn and grow from that experience. 

Let’s stop being hypocrites. We’ve all done something wrong in the past, and chances are, if we were in the public eye, we would also get “cancelled” one way or another. Let’s remember that celebrities are also human, and just as deserving of forgiveness and second chances. 

Let’s cancel cancel culture.