NOC, sgcickenrice, baerendang – if you haven’t heard about them, buckle up! The recent Night Owl Cinematics saga has gotten so much coverage, and it’s a prime example of cancel culture.
What is cancel culture?
To simply put it, it’s when someone gets cancelled aka a modern form of ostracism. It’s also when someone loses their credibility online, on social media or in person due to their past/current actions. Are we guilty of it? Yes, one time or another.
We’ve all been involved in it directly at some point – when we choose to unfollow a celebrity because of something they did, when we called them out on social media, or when we boycott their products. To us, it’s a form of social justice.
Circling back to the Night Owl Cinematics (NOC) saga mentioned above. @sgcickenrice, anonymous Instagram and TikTok accounts began posting videos/screenshots exposing Sylvia Chan, the co-founder of NOC of alleged workplace abuse. She got caught berating her employees in videos, screenshots of her cussing employees were also leaked, and it painted a very negative picture of her. Brands dropped her from their campaigns, and to clear the air, she agreed to an interview with a local Singaporean influencer, Xiaxue.
However, other allegations against her ex-husband (the other co-founder) surfaced. It went from workplace abuse to personal matters, causing both of them (plus all the employees) to be on the losing end. Read more here. The only clear winner in this situation is Xiaxue, who cashed in on all these dramas. Unfortunately, NOC is cancelled for the time being (unless one of them navigate the waters properly).
Other examples of celebrities getting cancelled include:
- Author JK Rowling, for deeply insulting comments to transgender people.
- Ellen Degeneres was under fire for alleged workplace abuse and attitude.
- Chrissy Teigen was dropped by brands when evidence of her bullying teenage star Courtney Stodden came to light.
- YouTuber David Dobrik faced heavy backlash after one of his videos allegedly depicted sexual assault.
Why is cancel culture so toxic?
“Cancel culture often denies the cancelled individual the most basic of human opportunities: to apologise and to be absolved,” explains Kimberley Wilson, a chartered psychologist. While we are not denying the importance of calling people out (especially if they have committed horrible crimes), we must be mindful of it. Cancel culture encourages people to be unforgiving. When does it cross the line and turn into cyberbullying instead? Furthermore, it is harder for someone to repent and apologize, even with good intentions. Apologies after the incident might come off as fake and despite it being genuine.
How did Kim Seon-ho pull a reverse card when he got cancelled?
Although there are cases of people getting “un-cancelled”, Kim Seon-ho is a current example of someone who braved cancel culture and survived. The star of Hometown Cha Cha Cha and Start-Up was accused of coercing his ex-girlfriend into getting an abortion. Brands like Domino’s Pizza Korea, Canon Korea, and Miima dropped him from their campaigns, even removing posts with his photos from all their social media platforms. It all happened so quickly. Four days after the allegations came to light, Kim Seon-ho and his agency issued an official apology.
However, here is where things take a turn…for the better. Korean media Dispatch released information that his ex-girlfriend was distorting the truth, and she is not so angelic either. People began to side with Kim Seon-ho again, as he’s now the victim in this scenario. His followers increased, his campaigns reinstated, and it looks like he came out of the ashes better than before!
What can we do moving forward?
Cancel culture isn’t going anywhere. However, we can be mindful about what we do. Are we ready to cancel someone instantly? Will we listen to both sides before making a judgement? What can we do instead? Are we going to use our platform to spread hate or can we use it to share information so that everyone can make an informed decision?
Stephanie Aeria is a content writer under Headliner by Newswav, a programme where content creators get to tell their unique stories through articles and at the same time monetize their content within the Newswav app.
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