Despite his racist and anti-Semitic remarks, Kanye West performed to a sold-out Gelredome. Artists such as Lil’ Kleine and Marco Borsato are also reappearing on stage and in the media. This apparent ‘de-cancelling’ raises the question of whether we have collectively become ‘cancel-weary’. Simone Driessen, media researcher at Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication, was interviewed by de Volkskrant to answer this question.
Cancel origins
The concept of ‘cancelling’ originated primarily online within fan culture, where artists were temporarily boycotted or stopped being streamed. By the late 2010s, fuelled by the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements, it had evolved into a key tool for addressing sexual violence and racism, resulting in the conviction of figures such as R. Kelly, Sean Combs, among others. In recent years, however, there seems to have been a shift: pop stars can apologise and then return to the charts relatively easily, as Michael Jackson and R. Kelly demonstrate. Is there such a thing as ‘cancel fatigue’?
Overlooking serious issues
Simone Driessen doesn’t think so. She sees the current wave of comebacks by controversial artists not so much as ‘cancel fatigue’, but rather as a shift in how the public and the industry deal with misconduct. “People have been more willing to overlook serious issues lately. It’s increasingly common to hear: the court case has been heard, there may or may not have been a conviction, so the matter is ‘settled’ and the music can play again.
Change of norms
According to Driessen, cancel culture has had lasting effects. Major issues surrounding MeToo and Black Lives Matter have made it clear that old norms are no longer acceptable. This is reflected, for example, in conferences on inappropriate behaviour in the music industry. “We have started to engage in the discussion more vigorously, more firmly and more visibly,” she says.
Easily forgiven
At the same time, the younger generation in particular is becoming accustomed to the constant stream of scandals and apologies. The commotion dies down more quickly, and artists like Lil Kleine seem to be forgiven more easily. For many young people, inappropriate behaviour from years ago feels like ‘news that doesn’t concern them’, especially if they are mainly familiar with it through old videos.
A sinister edge to apologies
Driessen also points to the strategy behind comebacks: apologies on talk shows and in documentaries, carefully planned campaigns or safe formats, such as Marco Borsato’s return on a Belgian cooking programme. Apologies often work, but they also take on a sinister edge when followed by a “but”, as with Lil Kleine, who apologised to his fans (not to his girlfriend) and portrays himself as a victim on his new album. Driessen: ‘What does that do to an artist’s credibility? And how do you deal with this, as an audience?’
Shift in public opinion
Her research into Borsato fans reveals that the public reacts in different ways to a fallen idol: from remaining loyal to secretly singing along in the car. According to Driessen, the recent acquittal, or rather, the failure to secure a conviction due to lack of evidence, marks a shift in public opinion. It is not ‘cancel culture’ that is disappearing, but the way in which we forgive, forget and start listening again is visibly changing.
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