Tag: cancel culture

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Anne Heche Felt Like ‘Patient Zero In Cancel Culture’ After DeGeneres Relationship

Anne Heche with Ellen DeGeneres on the red carpet at the 49th Annual Emmy Awards, 9/14/97. Heche says today she feels like she was 'patient zero' in cancel culture after being blacklisted by Hollywood due to the relationship.

Anne Heche says she was ‘cancelled’ in Hollywood after going public with her  relationship with Ellen DeGeneres in 1997. Heche tells Page Six she felt like “patient zero in cancel culture.” Continue reading “Anne Heche Felt Like ‘Patient Zero In Cancel Culture’ After DeGeneres Relationship”

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Olivia Newton-John On GREASE Criticism: ‘We Need To Relax A Bit, Enjoy Things For What They Are’

International pop star Olivia Newton-John
International pop star Olivia Newton-John
International pop star Olivia Newton-John (photo: Michelle Day)

With the coronavirus pandemic impacting lives around the world and social issues like LGBTQ rights and the Black Lives Matter movement, do we really need to ‘cancel’ a 42-year-old movie musical?

The mega-successful 1978 movie musical Grease was aired over the holidays on one of the BBC channels in the U.K. and some folks took to social media to decry the film as homophobic, racist, sexist, and even ‘rapey.’

In a recent interview, international pop-star Olivia Newton-John, who played ‘Sandy’ in the film, was asked about the kerfuffle.

“I think in this particular instance, it’s kind of silly because the movie was made in the ’70s about the ’50s,” the Aussie shared with the podcast ‘A Life of Greatness.’ ”It’s fun. It’s a fun movie musical and not to be taken so seriously.”

“I think everyone is taking everything so seriously,” added the 4-time Grammy Award winner. “We need to relax a little bit and just enjoy things for what they are.”

Newton-John has previously addressed criticism that the finale of the movie is sexist when ‘Sandy’ becomes a ‘bad girl’ to get her man played by John Travolta.

“Everyone forgets that, at the end, he changes for her, too,” notes the 72-year-old.

Olivia Newton-John and daughter Chloe Lattanzi
Olivia Newton-John with daughter Chloe Lattanzi (photo: Michelle Day)

For her part, Newton-John prefers to take a more positive view of life.

In 2018, the “Physical” singer shared with the world she was battling stage four breast cancer for the third time.

But today Newton-John says she’s feeling strong thanks to treatments ranging from western medicine to ‘kinder, gentler’ plant-based medicine.

“I think every day is a blessing,” she told The Guardian in an interview. “You never know when your time is over. We all have a finite amount of time on this planet, and we just need to be grateful for that.”

That said, Newton-John isn’t ready to spend her time sitting still.

She recently released a new pop single, “Window in the Wall,” with her daughter Chloe Lattanzi that looks to connect folks, not cancel them.

The music video for the single quickly hit #1 on the iTunes Music Video chart and stayed at the top spot for over a week. Newton-John says the new track will be part of a soon-to-be released collection of duets.

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‘Rona Rave’ Guests Denounce Social Media Attacks & Gay ‘Cancel Culture’

L-R Chris Weaver, DJ Alec Brian (screen captures)
Two attendees of last week’s now-infamous ‘Rona Rave’ in New York City have posted statements to the community at large admitting attending the shindig was a mistake, but also denouncing social media’s ‘cancel culture’ for the attacks the party-goers have experienced online. As I reported last week, videos of the party were posted by adult entertainment performer Ian Frost to his Instagram Story during the event. And when I say ‘videos,’ I mean some 31 videos were shared tagging many of the attendees with their Instagram handles. In the clips, you can see the 30+ party-goers were not of a mind to keep ‘social distancing’ practices in place, nor was anyone seen wearing a face mask amid the purple/pink party light. Twitter user Phillip Henry downloaded some of the clips and shared them to his followers, and quickly news of the event went viral.

Many were angry that, with New York City being THE hotspot in the U.S. for COVID-19, the party seemed reckless and dismissive of the efforts of frontline workers. Chris Weaver, who performs drag under the stage name Nedra Belle and is a past contestant on NBC’s The Voice, began his video message on Facebook saying that he respects all those medical and essential workers. In fact, he shares he has friends “serving on the front lines,” and he’s “reached out to a couple of them to let them know that if they need anything, I’m there and would love to help in any way I can.” He then segues into the social media “dragging” aimed at the party-goers and adds that there’s now a “call for us to be ‘canceled.'” “I’m a human,” says Weaver. “I make mistakes just like you make mistakes. It’s life.” “I fully understand that I have to deal with the repercussions of what I did and that it’s just a reality that we have to face,” he adds. “But, I won’t be scared or run into a hole or a box because you don’t agree. Okay?”

Admitting that attending the party was ‘dumb,’ Weaver says in hindsight, “If I had to do it all over again, would I have attended the event? I would have not.” “Everybody’s all up in arms and so upset – that I can understand,” he continues. “There are thousands and thousands of people who have perished from this, and that is unfortunate.” “But I didn’t go out with the intent to hurt anyone,” explains the singer. “I didn’t go out with the intent to say, ‘Oh I’m gonna go out to this party and not wear a mask to get the virus and to spread the virus.’ That’s not what I did, that’s not what I plan on doing and that’s not who I am.” Weaver also shares that he’s suffered a personal loss during the COVID-19 health threat as his 31-year-old cousin succumbed to the disease last week. “So, for all these negative comments, let me tell you something about the gay community, the LGBTQ+ community. What we do is we are so good at building each other up. But we’re even better at tearing each other down. And the problem with that is, we can drag and drag and drag folks all day and all night, but there’s never a chance – where is the chance for redemption? Where’s the chance for somebody to make up for their mistakes or to get it right? We don’t give that, but we wanna cancel folks.” “Some people are going to look at this video and say… that’s the thing, people can issue an apology and people are never satisfied,” he continues, although there’s no apology in the 11-minute video. “People just want something to attack people on. If you want to cancel me, cancel me, I mean that’s, it is what it is. And I’m hoping that you open up your hearts, not just for me but for those who you have attacked. Please know that your reaction causes reaction. Think about the person on the other side.” “And so I love you all,” he says concluding his message. “And for those of you who are still on this train with me, thank you. For those of you who aren’t, I’ll see ya.” He then sings an a cappella “Let There Be Peace on Earth” and signs off with a call to keep practicing social distancing. “It’s hard, I know. I just needed a moment, y’all.” The DJ who was captured in one of the videos, Alec Brian, also posted a Facebook video with similar sentiments saying he regrets accepting the gig, he took the job on the spur of the moment, and since then he says he’s been attacked on social media by people who didn’t bother to learn the “whole story.” Again, there was no ‘apology’ to anyone but he does say he used the money he earned at the party to buy 300 face masks that will be donated to those that need them.

According to the New York City Health Department, at the time of the party, there were 171,723 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the city; 43,383 hospitalized, 13,724 confirmed deaths and another 5,383 probable deaths. Today, those numbers have escalated to 178,766 confirmed cases. 44,812 hospitalizations, 14,753 confirmed deaths, and 5,178 probable deaths related to COVID-19.

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Taking A Look At The Effects Of ‘Queer Cancel Culture’

Psychotherapist Matthew Dempsey
Psychotherapist Matthew Dempsey takes a look at where our instinct for “queer cancel culture” comes from and explores other options that might be healthier for our heads and hearts. Taking a cue from his own experiences as a young gay, Dempsey says he realized that, as bad relationships fell away, he made mental notes to “never let that happen again.” But as he started having healthier relationships, echoes of those harmful experiences would show up and he would “pounce on the littlest thing that felt like it was a reflection” of his past trauma. Dempsey admits some of those reactions might have been a little ‘out-sized’ for the moment even if they were a protective response. But he realized those feelings might have kept him from meaningful relationships. This brings him to the topic of ‘queer cancel culture’ and how it may (or may not) be the healthiest reaction every time the LGBTQ community is attacked. “‘Cancel culture’ is when a person or an entity does or says something that we just viscerally disagree with,” explains Dempsey. “And we don’t just write them off but we kind of rally the troops to boycott or shut them down.” To be sure, Dempsey isn’t saying we shouldn’t stand up for ourselves when companies like Chick-fil-A take our consumer dollars and donate to anti-LGBTQ organizations. Quite the contrary. “For a community that has long been oppressed and silenced, us queer people need to make sure we continue to use our voices to assert our right for equality anytime it’s challenged or ignored,” says Dempsey. He points to companies like Chick-fil-A and eHarmony, or performers like Kevin Hart, who learned first-hand the backlash they can expect when they were unwilling to acknowledge their contributions of inequity to LGBTQ+ people. Considering recent events, it’s impossible not to think of a certain disgraced former congressman in this line of thinking, no? “Calling out any discrimination is a must,” asserts Dempsey.”But is canceling entire companies and public figures who misstep an even more effective strategy to let the larger society know what is no longer tolerable?” “We don’t want to just keep putting out fires, we want to make sure we teach people how to not even start them.” He also wonders if there are “overlooked costs” to the community and to the mental health of the people doing the canceling? Trust and believe, he isn’t advocating that the LGBTQ community lay down our arms. As he says, “F*ck no.” “Of course we need to make sure that we’re being really assertive in our need for equality, but we also want to have some openness so we are able to win over the people who ARE able to learn and make some changes with us.” Check out Dempsey’s latest video, “Queer Cancel Culture,” and his thoughts on the responses that can either maintain or help heal trauma both community-wide and individually. And then sound off in the comments section: Do you agree? Disagree? We want to know.