# Has Anyone Ever Been Un-Canceled? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** actor-characters\ **Created:** [March 3, 2023, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-un-canceled/980654 "2023-03-03T15:17:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2023, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-un-canceled/980654/61 "2023-03-04T18:40:11Z")
Janet Jackson is going on a [North American tour](https://www.janetjackson.com/tour) starting next month. It seems to be selling reasonably well. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2023, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-un-canceled/980654/62 "2023-03-04T18:44:19Z")
The Chicks, as they are now called, have a short residency in Las Vegas coming up followed by a [European and North American tour](https://thechicks.com/tour). Sales are so-so (most shows have plenty of seats available) but they are performing. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2023, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-un-canceled/980654/63 "2023-03-04T21:45:58Z")
I think there are two kinds of ‘cancellation’. One is where you piss off or frighten away the people who would hire you, and the other is where you piss off the _audience_ and they stop paying attention to you. I’m not sure the latter is really ‘cancellation’. More like not understanding, appreciating, or pandering to your audience. The Dixie Chicks fall into that category. They pandered to an extremely conservative, patriotic audience then pissed away their goodwill by attacking what they believed in. No one refused to book them or make their records, but their audience just went away. Know where your bread is buttered. On the right, some actors have been driven into the embrace of the Daily Wire and Fox because they’ve been nearly blacklisted in Hollywood for their politics. That would include Robert Davi, James Woods, Jon Voight, Mark Wahlberg, Jim Caviezel, Gina Carano, Nick Searcy, Dean Cain, and others. Some of them still get a bit of Hollywood work, but their careers definitely took a dive in the Trump era. There are conservatives in Hollywood who either weren’t cancelled, or who were but not for long. They fall into two categories - ones who keep their mouths shut and try to stay out of trouble by avoiding political commentary (Denzel Washington, Bruce Willis, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Sylvester Stallone), or those who just make the studios too much money. So Robert Downey Jr., Chris Pratt, Clint Eastwood and others get a lot of flak for their politics, but they are just too big to cancel. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2023, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-un-canceled/980654/64 "2023-03-04T21:52:29Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson 🤔 > **[Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Denounces Trump’s Lack of Leadership: ‘Where Are You?’](https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/dwayne-the-rock-johnson-denounces-trump-video-9396360/)** > > Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson issued a blistering denouncement of Donald Trump’s leadership amid nationwide protests supporting the Black Lives Matter movement on June 3.  > [Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson](https://www.billboard.com/music/dwayne-the-rock-johnson) issued a blistering denouncement of [Donald Trump](https://www.billboard.com/t/donald-trump/)’s leadership amid nationwide protests supporting the [Black Lives Matter](https://www.billboard.com/t/black-lives-matter/) movement on Wednesday (June 3). > > “Where are you? Where is our leader?” the star — who is black and Samoan — asked in his emotional video as he stared down the camera. “Where is our leader at this time … when our country is down on its knees, begging, pleading, hurt, angry, frustrated, in pain, begging and pleading with its arms out? Just wanting to be heard. Begging and pleading and praying for change? > During the nearly nine-minute-long video, The Rock also clapped back at the racist sentiment behind the “All Lives Matter” response to the protests. “Of course all lives matter,” he said. “Every single one, all lives matter, because we as Americans, we believe in inclusivity. We believe in acceptance; we believe in human rights. We believe in equality for all. That’s what we believe in, so of course all lives matter. But in this moment right now, this defining, pivotal, explosive moment where our country is down on its knees … we must say the words: Black lives matter.” ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2023, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-un-canceled/980654/65 "2023-03-04T21:59:27Z")
That’s why I had him in the category of ‘Republicans who keep their mouths shut’. Johnson was a fairly outspoken Republican until the Trump era. He spoke at the 2000 Republican convention. But he’s definitely anti-Trump, so he probably fits best as either an anti-Trump Republican like Mitt Romney, or perhaps he has moved to being an independent after seeing where the Republican party has gone. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2023, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-un-canceled/980654/66 "2023-03-04T22:03:07Z")
It’s very convenient for your persecution narrative I’ll say that. It’s also very convenient that only conservatives get really cancelled. When it happens to liberals it’s just organic backlash that they deserved. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2023, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-un-canceled/980654/67 "2023-03-04T22:07:55Z")
Anyway, in reality, getting “cancelled” isn’t really something that happens if you are popular or talented enough to make others enough money. This has always been true. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2023, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-un-canceled/980654/68 "2023-03-04T22:20:49Z")
> [@Chingon](#): > > It’s very convenient for your persecution narrative I’ll say that. > > It’s also very convenient that only conservatives get really cancelled. When it happens to liberals it’s just organic backlash that they deserved. First of all, take the personal shit to the pit where I don’t have to read it. Second, I never said anything about only conservatives being cancelled. You are just making that up. My post was specifically about concervative cancellations, because that seems relevant. Lots of left-wing people have been cancelled as well, and I never said otherwise. But lots of people have been mentioning those, so I was just providing some examples from the other side. > [@Chingon](#): > > Anyway, in reality, getting “cancelled” I’m going to assume your scare quots are an attempt to point out a spelling error? If so, you might want to know that both spellings are correct. You can use canceled or cancelled. The second is more commonly used in the British Commonwealth, and I’m Canadian. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2023, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-un-canceled/980654/69 "2023-03-04T22:25:35Z")
No, I didn’t care or notice your spelling choice. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2023, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-un-canceled/980654/70 "2023-03-04T23:42:52Z")
Sure, but most of Ryder & Downey’s career issues were of their own making, not due to public outcry and opprobrium about drug use, etc… ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2023, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-un-canceled/980654/71 "2023-03-04T23:52:01Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Yeah, that was super weird. He’d made some Tweets years earlier, when he was working for Adult Swim, that had a lot of crude jokes about pedophilia and homosexuality. But almost nobody on the left, in particular among gay rights orgs, gave a shit. The “outrage” was coming entirely from right-wing, homophobic trolls who were making a “liberal hypocrisy” argument. You know, “The left is hypocritical for not firing Gunn for these Tweets, when they fired for doing ”. I feel a key factor was that Gunn’s jokes had been made ten years earlier. When they were dug up by conservatives (who were angry about Gunn making current jokes about Trump) he acknowledged those earlier jokes were wrong and apologized. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2023, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-un-canceled/980654/72 "2023-03-05T00:17:19Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > William Talman was canceled by the production company for having been seen at a dubious party, but it only lasted a month or so before they brought him back. I think it was longer than a month. We went through a Perry Mason binge last year, and I think Talman missed at least half a season. His presence was missed. None of his subs had his sly humor. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2023, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-un-canceled/980654/73 "2023-03-05T02:14:52Z")
[Latrell Sprewell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrell_Sprewell) made quite a comeback after he was suspended for choking his coach. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2023, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-un-canceled/980654/74 "2023-03-05T16:57:57Z")
There is a big difference between being canceled for bad acts and people being afraid to back projects with their money because of erratic behavior. I don’t know if anyone disliked Downey because of his troubles. His talent was acknowledged and people felt sorry for him. If I remember correctly they were having trouble getting insurance for projects he was in. Coming back from that when he proved himself to be clean and reliable isn’t surprising. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2023, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-un-canceled/980654/75 "2023-03-05T18:41:21Z")
Not sure how “canceled” he was but Chris Hardwick has some accusations against him and he was removed from his “Talking Dead” show for a bit but came back. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2023, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-un-canceled/980654/76 "2023-03-05T20:01:00Z")
That’s what I’m saying! Nobody was particularly angered by Downey or Ryder’s drug troubles; rather it was the studios and backers who were leery of employing them until they straightened out. I remember the general feeling when they were discussed was more along the lines of “What a shame, he’s so talented, and I hope he gets his issues sorted out.”, not a “That damn, dirty drug user!” sort of feeling. Contrast this with Kevin Spacey, whose career has cratered _because_ people are outraged at his sexual assault behavior. No issues (that I’m aware of) with his work ethic, etc… from the studios. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2023, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-un-canceled/980654/77 "2023-03-11T16:19:33Z")
To go back somewhat further in time, one of the most notorious (get it? You will in a minute) cases of Hollywood cancellation occurred around 1950 when Ingrid Bergman (there it is) started having an affair with Roberto Rossellini and she became pregnant. Reactions in the US were so unpleasant that she stayed in Europe for a few years. But she did marry and later divorce Rossellini, and all was forgiven by 1956 when she starred in the Hollywood studio production of Anastasia and then won her second Oscar for best actress. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2023, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-un-canceled/980654/78 "2023-03-11T18:19:18Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > Not sure how “canceled” he was but Chris Hardwick has some accusations against him and he was removed from his “Talking Dead” show for a bit but came back. Likewise, Aziz Ansari had an accusation leveled against him and he took a brief break from working. ---
**Author:** ![SuperNelson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@SuperNelson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuperNelson)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2023, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-un-canceled/980654/79 "2023-03-12T20:16:51Z")
Would Rob Lowe count? ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2023, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-un-canceled/980654/80 "2023-03-12T20:19:50Z")
Wasn’t it his appearance in _Wayne’s World_ that re-opened doors for him? That’s my memory, and my thinking was that it showed he had a sense of humor. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-un-canceled/980654.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-un-canceled/980654.md?page=5)