Cancel Culture has become a well-known thing for the last few years. People get caught for past or current behavior, and the court of public opinion either exile them into obscurity or cancel them for a few weeks until the person has a new project come out. Most recently, social media influencers are being outed for their past racist, homophobic, and pedophilic behavior and actions. In the case of Shane Dawson, he is guilty of all three.
Shane Dawson went on an apology tour on Friday after the beauty community imploded on him and Jeffree Star for their past takedown of James Charles during his feud with Tati Westbrooke. Shane made up stories of him being a racist and a pedophile towards children. Tati Westbrooke came out and exposed them for their lies, and the flood gates opened for all of the past problematic videos Shane has made during his ten-year presence on Youtube. He posted an apology video trying to do media clean up, but that did nothing to help him because he blamed his mental health and home environment for his actions. Not even twelve hours after posting the video, another video surfaced of him fake masturbating to a poster of then 11-year-old Willow Smith. The Smith family was not here for the nonsense and responded on Twitter.
The Smith family is one of the most beloved and respected families in the world, and they do not play when it comes to their children, especially Willow. Jada and Jaden have every right to respond to this, and god only knows what Will will say about this. My question is how this person has been able to get away with stuff like this? How were the people who made these videos with him able to stay on Youtube and make a profit for this kind of behavior? The answer is white privilege and lack of accountability.
What's more disturbing is that his fans tell people to get over it and accept his apology. They are calling this a witch hunt and want them to continue to make content for their consumption. People who choose to deflect this behavior are just as discussing. Stop accepting apologies that are not meant for you. An excuse does not have to be accepted by the people that were hurt or offended. There is a difference between canceling someone vs. holding them accountable for their actions. This behavior is unforgivable, and he deserves to be canceled. His Youtube career is over, and so is the people associated with him.
Privilege Passes are over, and we are done condoning this behavior. Shane Dawson is officially canceled, and there is no coming back from this.