2023 is the year of the canceled chic. Our PR firm worked on the successful rollout of Caroline Calloway’s memoir. (See: the New Yorker’s rave review of her book, Scammer.) Jonah Hill monetized his text message scandal. A jury just found Kevin Spacey innocent. Even Colleen “Miranda Sings” Ballinger appears to be slowly bouncing back from her ukulele non-apology for grooming accusations, with a Vanity Fair investigative reporter debunking some of the allegations against her.
It’s clear we’ve turned a corner, but the truth is the culture shifted quite some time ago. As far back as 2020, a Politico/Morning Consult poll found 46 percent of Americans believed cancel culture had “gone too far.” But Americans kept their mouths shut because they feared social media retribution. Now, many people are speaking out, regardless of what people may tweet at them.