Cancelled

At the beginning of the 90s, mainstream pop belonged to a handful of female artists; Madonna, Whitney and Mariah Carey all owned the airwaves with their provocative posturing and emotive power ballads which dominated the top 40 chart. Also emerging at this time, and striking a match amongst her contemporaries was the Irish singer songwriter Sinéad O’Connor. Sinead O’Connor broke the mould and the mainstream with her reworked version of Princes’ classic ‘Nothing Compares To You’. Her voice and image sent shockwaves around the globe. Coming from an Irish Catholic background, the autonomy over her own body had, up to a point, always been restricted due to the theocracy and dominant religious landscape she grew up in. But being Sinéad O’connor, she wasn’t going to allow that to prevent her from speaking her truth...

This episdoe was written by Rhyannon Styles

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Like most 21st century corporate crises, this one started with a tweet. On 8 January 2018, New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow took to Twitter to vent at H&M over their choice of model and product on their UK website. The model was Liam Mango, a Black boy. The product was a £7.99 hooded top emblazoned with the slogan ‘coolest monkey in the Jungle’ ‘@hm, have you lost your damned minds?!?!?!”, Charles digitally barked at the second-largest global clothing retailer. Cue the unholiest of backlashes...

This Episode was written by Annique Simpson

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James Charles felt, in a way, entirely original. And of course, for someone at the cutting edge of the internet, his cancellation had to feel unique too. Enter Tati Westbrook, James Charles (full name Dickinson) erstwhile mentor-turned-maker. A stalwart of the online beauty-influencer empire, a perceived slight on her honour led to influencer warfare - untrodden ground for which this conflict paved the way. Long before Oprah’s legendary “were you silent, or silenced” line came to prominence, the question was about Breaking Your Silence. I.E. How James Charles, and his mentor, Tati Westbrook, came to be at loggerheads - and how it unravelled.

This episode was written by Anton Ferrie

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In 2021, a record 493 new people became billionaires – on average there was a new billionaire created every 17 hours. Meanwhile in Britain, over the crisis, the poorest 30% of adults gained an average additional wealth of just £86, compared to £50,000 for the richest 10%. The rich have lined their already deep pockets further, while the poor have only gotten poorer. So, when multi-millionaires chime in with hot takes that essentially shame those on the losing end of wealth inequality for their lack of “success”, it usually doesn’t end well. That’s something reality star Molly-May Hague can attest to after a series of tone-deaf comments that read like the infamous Paris Hilton “Stop Being Poor” t-shirt meme made her public enemy number one...

This episode was written by Ellie Abraham

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At the start of the millennium, Jeremiah Terminator Leroy or known simply as JT Leroy published his debut novel “Sarah”. Shortly afterwards, in 2001 a second book “The Heart is Deceitful Above all Things” was released to critical acclaim. As debuts go, Leroy’s books became an instant hit on both sides of the pond, and by 2004 had been published in over 20 different languages.

His voice encapsulated a generation of kids, many of whom lived on the margins of society; queers, punks, freaks and sex workers all found solace in Leroy’s words - the content of which has been labelled as autobiographical transgressive fiction. Like all good stories, plot twists and character reveals are essential to the narrative arch, and this story is full of them....

This episdoe was written by Rhyannon Styles 

This is a Broccoli Production 

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Although "The Slap Heard Around the World’ has secured the 94th Academy Awards’ place in the history books, the telecast had achieved momentous status before the cameras started rolling. For the first time, the Oscars had two African American celebrities co-host the awards in the same year – actress Regina Hall and comedian Wanda Sykes who now join Chris Rock in the hyper-exclusive club of African American Oscar hosts. You can count them on 1.5 hands. But one name that isn’t on this esteemed Black list is Kevin Darnell Hart aka the Host That Got Away. Or should that be the Host Who Stepped Away Because He Stood His Ground in the Name of Homophobia? Sure, it’s a mouthful but it’s befitting for one of the biggest bag fumbles this millennium...

This episode was written by Annique Simpson

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On May 10th, 2019, the final episode of The Jeremy Kyle Show aired. It was cancelled five days later, with all content wiped from streaming and catch-up services. But cross its 14 year run over one million people tuned in every day to watch its host, Jeremy Kyle, act as judge, jury and executioner over people’s personal traumas and crises. It was a circus of misery, and the public lapped it up. But what was going on behind the scenes? How did this show avoid cancellation for so many years? And, who should be held responsible?

This is episode was written by Michael Chakravarty

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It’s January 2022. Demurely dressed, Kate Clanchy sits in the UnHerd studio, a platform that prides itself on ‘challenging the herd’.

Why conservatives always try to frame themselves as courageous dissenters remains a mystery, but for now, it’s enough to know that they are all firmly rooting for Clanchy. Sat across from UnHerd’s executive editor, Freddie Sayers, Clanchy will pour her heart out to her white comrade in arms before it is uploaded to the platform’s YouTube as an exclusive. They will morosely ponder over how it seems like white people just can’t discuss people’s racialised physical features like they used to. These days, they come with pesky backlash and the instigation of online furores. Again and again, they will return to confusion. How could Kate Clanchy, a white woman with good intentions, have ended up here?

This episode was written by Paula Akpan

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It’s hard to avoid the RuPaul’s Drag Race hype. The franchise seems to be constantly airing at least one of its {global spinoff series} at any one time, and the show has launched some hundreds of drag artists into mainstream success who enjoy fame and fortune and wield enormous influence. So what happens when Drag Race gives the power of that platform to someone who abuses it? In 2019, the show came under fire for casting Joey Gugliemelli, a [then-]28-year-old who performed as a drag queen named Sherry Pie. Seemingly unbeknownst to the Drag Race casting team, Gugliemelli stood accused of conduct that was at best extremely troubling, and at worst, criminal. Sherry Pie’s name will go down in infamy - but has Gugliemelli managed to sidestep the ramifications of his actions?

This episode of Cancelled was written by Michael Chakraverty

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Kevin Spacey. The master of the Hollywood anti-hero. At the helm of some of the greatest cinematic achievements, from The Usual Suspects to American Beauty. That rare actor who imbued any character, no matter how grand, with a human frailty that made you root for him. And of course, that voice. On a par, surely, with Morgan Freeman’s, in terms of familiarity. His influence and sway permeated so thoroughly throughout his industry and beyond it, that the line between Kevin Spacey the actor, and Kevin Spacey the star, ceased to exist. Such was his prominence. But then it was exposed that Spacey himself had crossed a line. Again and again. And the actor who had been revered for his range, suddenly became reviled.

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