Cancel culture has been around since many of us have remembered. It started off on Twitter, those who said racial or homophobic slurs, and said or did other offensive things. Now it has evolved into something new: disliking escargot or not confronting your girlfriend for saying a slur can get you cancelled. Most young people would admit that TikTok has also influenced cancel culture in many ways. Cancel culture has been defended over and over for the fact that it removes people who don’t deserve their platform from fame. 

Shane Gillis is a comedian who was chosen to be on season 45 of Saturday Night Live (SNL). Shane was the co-host of a podcast called, “Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast.” On two different occasions, Shane used racial and homophobic slurs. Due to this, Shane was fired from SNL and found himself jobless. In an exclusive Anchor interview, Shane reflected on this experience. 

Anchor: What effect has this had on your mental health?

Shane: “It makes you paranoid, you imagine everyone around you doesn’t like you. Most people don’t even know or care.”

Anchor: How big of an impact being cancelled has had on your life?

Shane: “I can’t be on Saturday Night Live. It will keep me out of TV and film for a while, maybe forever. I still do stand up though, that’s fun. Even if you are joking, complete strangers have the ability to decide whether or not you are a good person who deserves work.” The comedian added, “It also made me realize that I don’t deserve health insurance and the career I’ve worked for and dreamed about isn’t for me. Accountability is important and people only deserve one chance.”

The takeaway:

For years now people have been talking about how toxic cancel culture is, but it seems no one is doing anything to stop it. It is an important issue in our society, one that needs us to make a stand, one way or the other, before it’s too late.