Actress Dakota Johnson said “cancel culture is such a fucking downer,” adding, “I feel sad for the loss of great artists” who have been canceled in the wake of the #MeToo movement.
“I never experienced that firsthand from any of those people,” Johnson told the Hollywood Reporter of her former male co-stars, like actors Johnny Depp, Shia LaBeouf, and Armie Hammer, who have all experienced cancel culture following allegations of abuse.
“I had an incredible time working with them,” the Fifty Shades of Grey actress added. “I feel sad for the loss of great artists. I feel sad for people needing help and perhaps not getting it in time. I feel sad for anyone who was harmed or hurt. It’s just really sad.”
Johnson went on to say that while she believes “people can change,” she also thinks “there’s a major overcorrection happening” in the era of cancel culture and the #MeToo movement.
“I do believe that people can change,” she said. “I want to believe in the power of a human being to change and evolve and get help and help other people. I think there’s definitely a major overcorrection happening.”
“But I do believe that there’s a way for the pendulum to find the middle,” Johnson added. “But, yeah, cancel culture is such a fucking downer. I hate that term.”
In September, Depp told a film festival audience that in the era of cancel culture “no one is safe, not one of you,” It only takes one sentence, the Pirates of the Caribbean star said, to have the “carpet pulled” out from under you.
In August, actor and comedian David Spade warned that wokeness is killing comedy.
“It’s very dicey. It’s very tricky,” the star said of being a comedian in the age of cancel culture. “Now you say the one wrong move and you’re canceled. It’s a very tough world out there.”
In May, veteran comedian Dave Chappelle proclaimed, “cancel culture shit bothers me,” and called out the “fake woketivists” who try to censor their opposition.
Chappelle has since been dealing with a mob of transgender activists, who are trying to cancel him after having taken offense to his latest Netflix special, The Closer, because the comedian made jokes that mentioned members of the LGBTQ community.
The concept of cancel culture has also been slammed from within the music industry.
In May, Glenn Danzig — who founded the rock band Misfits — said his band and “the punk explosion” could never happen today, because of “cancel culture and woke bullshit.” The rocker added, “you won’t have any of those kinds of bands ever again,” because “everyone’s so uptight and P.C.”
In April, Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon — also known as Johnny Rotten — called “wokeness” a divisive political weapon being wielded by privileged, “tempestuous, spoilt children,” whom the media offer a platform to push their unpopular politically correct opinions. “Wokeness,” Rotten said, is “a device used by the privileged to keep the working class in their place.”
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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