The Cancel Culture Myth: Hollywood's Bold Double Standard and the Women Who Pay the Price
There has never been a moment in my life when I thought men were better than women. If there's one thing my parents did right, it was to raise me with the awareness that gender does not dictate a person's skill level, and it certainly doesn't dictate success.
Unfortunately, their well-intentioned teachings meant I spent my sentient years horribly, endlessly frustrated by the reality of gender and self-expression.
Carrying that knowledge with me for the past 28 years in a society that does not share that sentiment is absolutely exhausting. I would be more outraged if I weren't so drained from being so outraged for so long. Have you ever seen a vigilante-level pissed 10-year-old girl? She has so many more years of rage ahead of her.
Every day, I scroll social media and am reminded that being a talented woman with a platform is a double-edged sword: a choose-your-own-adventure in which you are flayed by the press, haters, industry leaders, and everyone in between. From Chappell Roan to Janet Jackson, the price of talent is your dignity.
Alternatively, talented men with a platform seem to be immortal, respawning every few years after the initial backlash from their crimes dies down. Even the worst of them seem to have defenders who selectively understand nuance, who can empathize with an abuser, who can "separate the art from the artist."
Do you think I'm being dramatic?
Hysterical, even?
Fine, let's do a quick roll call of our offenders, shall we?
Kate Beckinsale: A Liked Post and a Two-Sentence Firing
Her offense: In 2023, actor Kate Beckinsale liked a post calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. That's it.
Her sentence: Beckinsale was promptly dropped by her agency after over 12 years together.
This firing is particularly interesting, given that Mark Ruffalo had publicly and consistently spoken out in support of Palestine, with the same agency, and faced zero professional consequences. Rightfully, Beckinsale pointed out the hypocrisy in a now-deleted comment on Ruffalo's Instagram, stating, "I guess having a penis in Hollywood really counts for a lot."
Chris Brown: Charged and Charting
His offense(s): We know what he did in 2009. And then he apologized. And then he did it again. And then he kept doing it.
His sentence: In the 17 years since his initial crimes, he has been nominated for 19 Grammys and won two.
Chris Brown is perhaps the most well-documented example of this selective forgiveness. He apologized, right? He's been through a lot. He was troubled! Rihanna forgave him, shouldn't we?
First of all, no, we shouldn't.
Even if it was just one incident, but it wasn't just one, was it? He continues to refuse full responsibility for nearly two decades of violence.
But hey, he can sing, right?
Chappell Roan: The "Mean" Lesbian
Her offense: She set reasonable boundaries. She said she didn't owe strangers her time, her body, or her gratitude for the privilege of being touched without asking.
From fans and paparazzi finding her family home, to telling paparazzi to watch their tone, to a confusing and "aggressive" security guard encounter, if there's a boundary to be set, Chappell will set it.
Her sentence: Branded ungrateful, a diva, entitled, not fit for fame. The narrative around Chappell Roan grows more hostile and reductive every day. Personality aside, shouldn't we be separating the art from the artist? Does her behavior warrant this kind of backlash?
Sean Penn: Academy Award-Winning Abuser
His offense(s): 30 years of documented violence, primarily against journalists and photographers.
If Chappell Roan is being branded a diva for yelling at paparazzi, surely Sean Penn would be held accountable for actually assaulting them, right?
His sentence: Turns out accountability comes in the shape of an Oscar. In Penn's case, it came in the shape of three.
He won one of his Oscars the same year he was charged with kicking a photographer.
Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake: He Did It, She Paid for It
Their '‘Shared” Offense: During Super Bowl XXXVIII in February 2004, Justin Timberlake removed part of Janet Jackson's costume, exposing her breast to a live audience of over 150 million viewers. Later described as a "wardrobe malfunction," it remains one of the most consequential moments in pop culture history.
Her sentence: Janet Jackson was promptly blacklisted from CBS, MTV, VH1, and Viacom-owned radio stations the same night and was uninvited from the Grammys that year. This incident wasn't even intentional, and it certainly wasn't consensual on Jackson's part. Her career never recovered.
His sentence: Timberlake attended the Grammys two weeks later and won two awards. Fourteen years later, he was invited back to perform at Super Bowl LII. On the same stage.
Timberlake himself said of the incident: "I probably got 10 percent of the blame, and that says something about society."
Are You Getting the Picture?
Every day that passes, the list gets longer, and I grow more exhausted.
In a world created for men, the sheer act of being a woman is consenting to being put on an impossibly tall pedestal. Did you ask for all those eyes on you? All of the criticism? Well, if you decided to use your voice for anything other than a "yes, sir" or "right away," I guess you asked for it.
At this point, I have no choice but to conclude that this is society's way of covertly controlling the very identity of a woman. In moments where we should be setting the standard for the next generation, are we not choosing to "see the good" in a violent man for the sake of art, while we punish women for the mere suggestion that they have the right to their art, their voice, their dignity?
Maybe we aren't putting our hands on women. Maybe we wouldn't lay a finger on Chappell Roan. Maybe the thought wouldn't even cross our minds. But what we will do is attempt to control the second most vulnerable and personal quality of a woman: her voice.