Cancelled

“But it was supposed to be funny.” It’s an excuse we’ve ALL heard and probably used when we’ve been confronted by our past mistakes and gone immediately on the defensive. It’s easier than taking accountability sometimes. And that’s just amongst friends. But what happens when your past mistakes are documented on video? YouTube videos that you’ve put out there. That have accrued to form a brand in your name, made you a ton of money, and put you in a position of power and influence in the lives of countless young people who digest your material. Some people are the moment. Shane Dawson was the moment. But then, the landscape changed beneath him, and he just couldn’t keep up. And he certainly couldn’t claim that he was trying to be funny anymore...

This episode was written by Anton Ferrie

This is a Broccoli Prodcution 

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Janet Damita Jo Jackson, Britney Jean Spears. Two pop goddesses who entered the music game as kids and grew up to garner more critical and commercial success than their 10-year-old selves could ever dream of. But what else do they have in common? Problematic white pop star and Former N*Sync co-frontman Justin Randall Timberlake.

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Why do so many women get a hard time when they speak up? It’s like: How dare you do anything but sing, dance, play … entertain me?

How dare you have an opinion? It doesn’t matter if you’re the darlings of ‘country’ and one of the most successful bands in the world. Don’t badmouth my president, especially overseas. We’re taking you back to the eve of one of the most contentious wars in recent history. Emotions were running high and all it took was one little comment to start a national boycott slash hate campaign; Critics threatening to fire shots … FOR REAL.

This episode was written by Amar Patel

This is a Broccoli Production 

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Today’s topic has had many tweets, think pieces, and much mainstream media coverage devoted to it. And while the subject matter was initially reported as yet another example of salacious {tabloid fodder}, it eventually took a more disturbing turn, exposing our ‘protagonist’ while also raising valid concerns about future press freedoms and the First Amendment. But how did the beloved Hulk Hogan go from being an ‘immortal’ icon to a figure of scorn and derision?

This episode was written by Oumar Saleh

This is a Broccoli Production 

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A controversy-courting YouTube chat show, a twitter clapback, and a verbal gymnastic session with a move so bold, so bewilderingly audacious, that it’d probably leave Simone Biles a bit rattled. This is the story of Daniel Caesar, the rising R&B star whose commitment to catching stray bullets for his friend, Julieanna ‘YesJulz’ Goddard, got him CANCELLED with a permanent C. Sort of. 

This episode was written by Annique Simpson

This is a Broccoli Prodution. 

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Art and controversy go hand in hand. Many celebrated artists tiptoe on the edge of taste, decency and political correctness as a means to explore emotions and boundaries. In the 1980's underground queer entertainment was grounded in shock value.  But, by the tail end of the decade, the landscape looked and sounded very different. The prominent razzle dazzle doyennes found themselves in very different territory... Leigh Bowery included.

This episode was written by Rhyannon Styles

This is a Broccoli Production

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Think public takedowns or mass moral outrage, and social media is often the arena. A tweet, the weapon of choice. But people have been called out, vilified and openly flogged since … well … forever. And it usually involves some form of prejudice or privilege, either way. Let’s take one example: a WTF moment during one of the biggest events in live television. How an alleged wardrobe malfunction exposed much more than a body part, derailing pop icon Janet Jackson's career.

It’s so contentious that we are still talking about 17 years later … and there could yet be another twist in the tale.

This episdoe was written by Amar Patel 

This is a Broccoli Production 

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Summer 2020 was peak cancellation season and no one was safe. The murder of George Floyd forced people, who had otherwise had the privilege of ignoring racism’s pervasiveness, to begin to see it for what it is. Callouts on racial injustice became callouts on social justice across the board and a number of brands – and the people at their helm – were brought to reckoning and the fashion brand Boohoo were top of the hitlist.

This episode was written by Ore Ogunbiyi

This is a Broccoli Production 

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Retweets are not endorsements. That’s what people say. It’s become a universal disclaimer in our online discourse – used to dodge criticism for, say, retweeting Trump during his Twitter heyday. Read: a retweet is not an endorsement, even if you’re retweeting a fascist.

Unless, of course, you add a little message saying you agree with a fascist. That’s pretty much what Mumford & Sons banjoist, Winston Marshall - who once adopted the moniker “Country Winston” - did, out of the blue, on March 7th 2021.

This episode was written by Anton Ferrie

This is a Broccoli Production 

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If I could only choose one word – a polite, podcast-friendly word – to sum up the past 18 months, it’d be... ‘weird’. A global pandemic that had people fighting over toilet roll and governments telling us when we could leave the house or have sex? Weird. At times, tragic and necessary... except the toilet roll thing. But 100% weird. One celeb who has successfully capitalised on the social currency of ‘weird’ is Gen-Z’s fave singer slash rapper Doja Cat. But her ‘out of the box’ behaviour almost cut her fledgling mainstream career {off at the knees} after she became embroiled in a Twitter scandal that still baffles the few of us who can’t stop thinking about it.

This episode was written by Annique Simpson

This is a Broccoli Production 

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