The Runaways – they were practically cancelled in the United States in the 1970’s due to no fault of their own, they made some banging songs as teenagers, but because of the way they were treated by Kim Fowly and the public, they never were really recognized in the US for about a decade, and pretty much were a commercial failure. Without them, we would not have Lita Ford, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and The Bangles.
Also fun fact, Joan Jett was effectively blacklisted by the music industry in the 1980’s because of her reputation from the Runaways and the fact that at the time, there really were no women in mainstream rock again, and was rejected by all the major record labels including her former label Mercury Records. She just steamed ahead and released “Joan Jett” aka Bad Reputation by herself becoming the first women in US history to form a record label.
Oh and she had two platinum certified albums and “Queens of Noise” and “The Runaways” her first two albums, one went platinum three times in Japan and one was certified almost 4 times.
Every asshole who was cursed with being an adult in the 90s (my parents generation, which was from my pov now rampant with diet culture/EDs, misogyny, and overall ignorance) owes Sinead and Monica an apology
Right now I want to just talk about Monica Lewinsky for a sec. She’s incredible. She was only 23 when the entire world made her the butt of every joke in the most vicious way possible (looking at jay leno in particular). As opposed to the man in power. She didn’t change her name, she survived the onslaught and now she’s a massive advocate for change and shes super funny. I find her so incredibly inspiring and brave. Definitely one of my many heroines.
Edit: the bill Clinton scandal happened 25 years ago this week!!!
Every protestor who was made into an “SJW” meme circa 2010-2015. Their faces alone somehow constituted an argument against social change for many people, regardless of what ridiculous text was written above and below their heads.
Anita Sarkeesian, not all of her takes were quite on the mark but she was right about the really gross sexualization of women and female characters in characters in video games and absolutely did not deserve all that hate and vitriol directed at her during Gamergate.
Have been listening to the you’re wrong about podcast non stop lately and they have great episodes on all the women/incidents mentioned in the comments so far, definitely recommend checking it out if you’re interested
People still value John Wayne, and he was a real piece of shit. People had to hold him back because of his threating to hit Sacheen LittleFeather, addressing the Oscar’s in place of Marlon Brando’s acceptance speech.
The speech was centered on the Mal treatment of the Natives and their work being accosted by Hollywood to horrific portrayal.
“If Harvey Weinstein invites you to a private party at the Four Seasons, don’t go.” She said this back in 2005. She knew it would get her effectively blacklisted from Hollywood, and it did. We’ll never know how many young women she saved.
Totally agree. Eartha Kitt (cancelled for “insulting” Ladybird Johnson) and Nina Simone (cancelled for recording “Mississippi Goddamn!” in protest of racist violence in the state) come to mind.
E. Jean Carroll was cancelled for the longest. I am glad she kept fighting and is finally getting some traction. Also, practically every other woman/child who accused TFG of rape. Make no mistake, even now the women accusers of men in power are still being cancelled. This is why we have Brett “I like beer” Kavanaugh. Fuck that guy. Just knowing that he was instrumental in the overturning of Roe v Wade makes my blood boil.
Anita Sarkeesian. I feel awful for the terrible things I believed about her in highschool. I’m so happy she got through despite bring one of the main targets of gamer gate
Rebecca Watson. Look up “Elevatorgate.” It was the trial run to GamerGate.
She still runs a fantastic YouTube channel where she explains and discusses science, plus the occasional atheist or feminist issue. They tried to run her off the internet with bomb threats, stalking, harassment, smear campaigning and professional blackballing (looking at you, Richard Dawkins you pos), but she still produces content weekly here: [https://www.youtube.com/@RebeccaWatsonSkepchick](https://www.youtube.com/@RebeccaWatsonSkepchick)
Katherine Heigl. Spoke up about the poor working conditions on Grey’s and the sexism in Knocked Up and basically got accused of being an ungrateful b!tch and basically black listed for it. Now people are coming out and say, “actually, she was right”.
She was the first black female rapper, or at least the first to gain any kind of fame. Massively successful, has her own label now, and works really hard to raise other women up.
Pamela Anderson/Lee deserves to be on that list… definitely was exploited by pretty much every man she ever met, slut shamed for decades because of how she looked, and the sex tape scandal that she had nothing to do with.
She hasn’t been cancelled necessarily, but the current discourse around Meghan Markle is gross and undeserved. Every time an article in r/ entertainment gets posted, people whine about overexposure and now she’s “milking” her life story. I’m sorry?…milking her life story? She was a C-list American celebrity who married into one of the richest and most famous families on the planet. She was lambasted by the press for the silliest things, but with clearly nefarious undertones. Even if you want to believe race had absolutely nothing to do with the way Meghan was treated (it was, though) it wasn’t normal the way the press hounded Diana or Kate when they married into the family either. It’s celebrity worship on steroids–which is maybe a little explainable when you remember some people actually believe the royal family are descendents of God. And then she and her husband defected yet SHE was largely blamed.
Why the fuck shouldn’t she be able to tell that story? Is the market saturated with people under 70 who have close ties to the royal family? And what else is she supposed to do for income other than sell the rights to the very thing that has made her a household name? People behaving like she should just go back to Suits and shut up about everything she’s been through are really glossing over a major issue in how famous people can be treated by the tabloids if they aren’t in their good graces.
And yeah, she does seem a little aloof and self absorbed (because, you know, celebrity) but anyone acting like this is unique to her is delusional. All famous people are a little aloof and self absorbed. But I guess when Seth Rogan plays Seth Rogan in all his movies, that’s fine because he’s found his niche. When Meghan Markle gets interviews and a Netflix special, she’s “milking it.”
Janeane Garofalo. Most people don’t know that she was canceled for criticizing the war in Iraq. She was set to star in a TV show and replaced the day before shooting began explicitly because she spoke out against the war. Most of us just remember a quiet bit of her career when she didn’t seem to be around much.
Marc Maron talked about the incident in a podcast episode where he was complaining about the phenomenon of comics who claim that “woke culture” and “cancel culture” means you can’t say anything nowadays and it’s censorship. He discussed how no one is persecuting them and they’re still selling out shows, they’re not “brave.” Then he discussed JG as an example of a comedian who did bravely speak out and who was actually censored and suffered real consequences. I thought it was pretty cool that he used a female comedian as an example.
With all respect to the famous folks … Most of the most heartbreaking stories of being “cancelled” by their own bot of society belong to women whose names nobody would know. Just the ladies, through the years, who suffered and were vilified.
I saw that question too and so many men were mentioned but no women…. I left because while it was entertaining to read clearly most commenters only know about men and somehow women just don’t matter enough??
Ashlee Simpson! Fucking everybody in entertainment lip syncs, and the bad timing of SNL killed a career I had high hopes for. I loved her music.
I’ll accept the serendipity of this being posted and the first thing I saw today…got purposefully triggered last night and wanted to disappear, because I feel like trauma has turned me into an overgrown baby when maybe I’m no different than any other woman struggling with mental health.
I see it as pointless to talk about the fact that I’m “still here”, because I have caregivers, so all I have to do is stay alive, right? But I’d never say that about any of these women.
Stella Liebeck, she of the McDonald’s coffee case.
One of the big examples about how corporations malign people who they have hurt.
Anita Hill. The things she was asked. The jokes about her. She didn’t deserve any of that.
The Runaways – they were practically cancelled in the United States in the 1970’s due to no fault of their own, they made some banging songs as teenagers, but because of the way they were treated by Kim Fowly and the public, they never were really recognized in the US for about a decade, and pretty much were a commercial failure. Without them, we would not have Lita Ford, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and The Bangles.
Also fun fact, Joan Jett was effectively blacklisted by the music industry in the 1980’s because of her reputation from the Runaways and the fact that at the time, there really were no women in mainstream rock again, and was rejected by all the major record labels including her former label Mercury Records. She just steamed ahead and released “Joan Jett” aka Bad Reputation by herself becoming the first women in US history to form a record label.
Oh and she had two platinum certified albums and “Queens of Noise” and “The Runaways” her first two albums, one went platinum three times in Japan and one was certified almost 4 times.
Every asshole who was cursed with being an adult in the 90s (my parents generation, which was from my pov now rampant with diet culture/EDs, misogyny, and overall ignorance) owes Sinead and Monica an apology
Megan Thee Stallion. She was freaking assaulted with a deadly weapon and somehow she’s the bad guy still
Connie Chung. She is an amazing journalist who was punished for being a woman.
Anita Hill has been my hero, ever since she called out Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on being a predator.
She was vilified and he was confirmed. Still makes me mad. Scumbag is still on the bench with his right-wing wife under investigation.
Ashley Judd was blacklisted after rejecting HW.
Right now I want to just talk about Monica Lewinsky for a sec. She’s incredible. She was only 23 when the entire world made her the butt of every joke in the most vicious way possible (looking at jay leno in particular). As opposed to the man in power. She didn’t change her name, she survived the onslaught and now she’s a massive advocate for change and shes super funny. I find her so incredibly inspiring and brave. Definitely one of my many heroines.
Edit: the bill Clinton scandal happened 25 years ago this week!!!
That woman that got 3rd degree burns from McDonald’s coffee, that was an awful PR stunt from McDonald’s
Every protestor who was made into an “SJW” meme circa 2010-2015. Their faces alone somehow constituted an argument against social change for many people, regardless of what ridiculous text was written above and below their heads.
Courtney Love was right about Weinstine.
Anita Sarkeesian, not all of her takes were quite on the mark but she was right about the really gross sexualization of women and female characters in characters in video games and absolutely did not deserve all that hate and vitriol directed at her during Gamergate.
Have been listening to the you’re wrong about podcast non stop lately and they have great episodes on all the women/incidents mentioned in the comments so far, definitely recommend checking it out if you’re interested
Now we see the patriarchy inherent in the system.
The Chicks debacle still chaps my hide. They got death threats.
People still value John Wayne, and he was a real piece of shit. People had to hold him back because of his threating to hit Sacheen LittleFeather, addressing the Oscar’s in place of Marlon Brando’s acceptance speech.
The speech was centered on the Mal treatment of the Natives and their work being accosted by Hollywood to horrific portrayal.
Courtney Love.
“If Harvey Weinstein invites you to a private party at the Four Seasons, don’t go.” She said this back in 2005. She knew it would get her effectively blacklisted from Hollywood, and it did. We’ll never know how many young women she saved.
Totally agree. Eartha Kitt (cancelled for “insulting” Ladybird Johnson) and Nina Simone (cancelled for recording “Mississippi Goddamn!” in protest of racist violence in the state) come to mind.
E. Jean Carroll was cancelled for the longest. I am glad she kept fighting and is finally getting some traction. Also, practically every other woman/child who accused TFG of rape. Make no mistake, even now the women accusers of men in power are still being cancelled. This is why we have Brett “I like beer” Kavanaugh. Fuck that guy. Just knowing that he was instrumental in the overturning of Roe v Wade makes my blood boil.
Anita Sarkeesian. I feel awful for the terrible things I believed about her in highschool. I’m so happy she got through despite bring one of the main targets of gamer gate
THEIR OWN HEALTH, AND NEARLY DYING FROM DOCTORS’ NEGLECT AND DISBELIEF (SERENA WILLIAMS)
It’s almost like it’s primarily used as a smokescreen for bigotry/misogyny/sexism.
Yeah, IMO lots of people owe Sinead an apology.
Rebecca Watson. Look up “Elevatorgate.” It was the trial run to GamerGate.
She still runs a fantastic YouTube channel where she explains and discusses science, plus the occasional atheist or feminist issue. They tried to run her off the internet with bomb threats, stalking, harassment, smear campaigning and professional blackballing (looking at you, Richard Dawkins you pos), but she still produces content weekly here: [https://www.youtube.com/@RebeccaWatsonSkepchick](https://www.youtube.com/@RebeccaWatsonSkepchick)
Katherine Heigl. Spoke up about the poor working conditions on Grey’s and the sexism in Knocked Up and basically got accused of being an ungrateful b!tch and basically black listed for it. Now people are coming out and say, “actually, she was right”.
Missy Elliot.
She was the first black female rapper, or at least the first to gain any kind of fame. Massively successful, has her own label now, and works really hard to raise other women up.
Pamela Anderson/Lee deserves to be on that list… definitely was exploited by pretty much every man she ever met, slut shamed for decades because of how she looked, and the sex tape scandal that she had nothing to do with.
She hasn’t been cancelled necessarily, but the current discourse around Meghan Markle is gross and undeserved. Every time an article in r/ entertainment gets posted, people whine about overexposure and now she’s “milking” her life story. I’m sorry?…milking her life story? She was a C-list American celebrity who married into one of the richest and most famous families on the planet. She was lambasted by the press for the silliest things, but with clearly nefarious undertones. Even if you want to believe race had absolutely nothing to do with the way Meghan was treated (it was, though) it wasn’t normal the way the press hounded Diana or Kate when they married into the family either. It’s celebrity worship on steroids–which is maybe a little explainable when you remember some people actually believe the royal family are descendents of God. And then she and her husband defected yet SHE was largely blamed.
Why the fuck shouldn’t she be able to tell that story? Is the market saturated with people under 70 who have close ties to the royal family? And what else is she supposed to do for income other than sell the rights to the very thing that has made her a household name? People behaving like she should just go back to Suits and shut up about everything she’s been through are really glossing over a major issue in how famous people can be treated by the tabloids if they aren’t in their good graces.
And yeah, she does seem a little aloof and self absorbed (because, you know, celebrity) but anyone acting like this is unique to her is delusional. All famous people are a little aloof and self absorbed. But I guess when Seth Rogan plays Seth Rogan in all his movies, that’s fine because he’s found his niche. When Meghan Markle gets interviews and a Netflix special, she’s “milking it.”
Sinbad O’Connor
Canceled for protesting child abuse in the church.
The Dixie Chicks for speaking out against the war in Iraq
Janeane Garofalo. Most people don’t know that she was canceled for criticizing the war in Iraq. She was set to star in a TV show and replaced the day before shooting began explicitly because she spoke out against the war. Most of us just remember a quiet bit of her career when she didn’t seem to be around much.
Marc Maron talked about the incident in a podcast episode where he was complaining about the phenomenon of comics who claim that “woke culture” and “cancel culture” means you can’t say anything nowadays and it’s censorship. He discussed how no one is persecuting them and they’re still selling out shows, they’re not “brave.” Then he discussed JG as an example of a comedian who did bravely speak out and who was actually censored and suffered real consequences. I thought it was pretty cool that he used a female comedian as an example.
JK Rowling deserves it, though.
The Chicks –
Taylor Swift in 2016
Katherine Heigl.
All we’ve ever heard is that she was a bitch and hard to work with. What if she’s just a strong woman who asks for what she wants.
When women are outspoken, they’re labelled as a bitch.
This year I wrote an entire sermon about Lindsay Ellis.
With all respect to the famous folks … Most of the most heartbreaking stories of being “cancelled” by their own bot of society belong to women whose names nobody would know. Just the ladies, through the years, who suffered and were vilified.
I saw that question too and so many men were mentioned but no women…. I left because while it was entertaining to read clearly most commenters only know about men and somehow women just don’t matter enough??
Meanwhile the people who *should* be getting cancelled even more are barely getting scratched.
*cough cough* ^Trump ^& ^Every ^Republican ^In ^Office ^& ^J.K. ^Rowling *cough*
Ashlee Simpson! Fucking everybody in entertainment lip syncs, and the bad timing of SNL killed a career I had high hopes for. I loved her music.
I’ll accept the serendipity of this being posted and the first thing I saw today…got purposefully triggered last night and wanted to disappear, because I feel like trauma has turned me into an overgrown baby when maybe I’m no different than any other woman struggling with mental health.
I see it as pointless to talk about the fact that I’m “still here”, because I have caregivers, so all I have to do is stay alive, right? But I’d never say that about any of these women.
Basically every women The C Word dedicated an episode to.
I had this very train of thought reading the post. Thank you for giving the sentiment a proper post.
I would like to point out that “cancel culture” was a term created to put down Black women on Twitter who raised concerns.
I try to avoid using the term because of its history. That way I’m not using the tactics of our oppressors.
Here’s a link to a TikTok playlist that explains that:
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRs9nThp/
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