Cancel culture vs. free speech: Why America needs a cease-fire

Our current focus on cancel culture incorrectly emphasizes ‘cancel’ instead of ‘culture.’ Unless and until we come to grips with why some in our society want to impose censorship on others, the cycle is sure to repeat itself, to our nation’s detriment.”

Stuart N. Brotman, Digital Media Laureate at The Media Institute

America 250 celebrations began amidst recent annual New Year’s resolutions. So, it’s timely to declare a cease-fire among all those who engage in “cancel culture.”

Cancel culture largely has been reduced to a label affixed to any call for someone or something to be publicly admonished, typically through social media and its aftermath. It is used by people on both poles of the political spectrum, but at its core, it aims to inhibit free expression, often highlighting the intolerance of the other side.

Cancel culture is really just a symptom of a larger social disease that has been amped up in the United States as it has been incorporated into our American value system. And it remains with us as 2026 begins.

The real root of cancel culture is that an individual or group feels the need to censor. It is not a new phenomenon, as a brief look at history reminds us. Many still remember how Elvis Presley’s records were banned from radio stations based on his on-stage gyrations. Ed Sullivan famously canceled any below-the-waist view of Elvis on his popular CBS Sunday night TV show. A national crisis among screaming teenage girls who were not exposed to Elvis’ swinging hips was thus averted, albeit temporarily.

The arrival of The Beatles didn’t change things much either. When John Lennon sarcastically commented at a news conference that his group was more popular than Jesus, their music was promptly removed from radio stations across the country, which also led to the immediate destruction of Beatles’ records.

Remember disco music, which became the soundtrack of our lives in the 1970s? All that was needed by the cancel culture warriors of the day was the support of radio shock jock and anti-disco campaigner Steve Dahl, along with Major League Baseball, which organized a highly publicized promotion at Chicago’s Comiskey Park in 1979. There, between a Chicago White Sox-Detroit Tigers doubleheader, a crate filled with disco records was blown up by Dahl on the field. The crowd went wild — an actual riot followed among thousands in attendance, shouting the new cancel culture mantra, “Disco sucks.”

Similar stories are plentiful in many other areas of popular culture — comic books, movies, TV shows and stand-up comedy. This is not a new phenomenon, either. Everything old seems new again.

Today, cancel culture is a great way to generate clickbait and viral shaming, but there are too few examples of it working in practice. Mel Gibson is still making movies, Louis C.K. is still performing comedy routines before sold-out crowds, and global sales of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books have not diminished.

Our current focus on cancel culture incorrectly emphasizes “cancel” instead of “culture.” Unless and until we come to grips with why some in our society want to impose censorship on others, the cycle is sure to repeat itself, to our nation’s detriment.

Perhaps the best reason for ending cancel culture was provided by Oscar-nominated actress Sharon Stone. “I think cancel culture is the stupidest thing I have ever seen happen. I think when people say things that they feel and mean, and it’s offensive to you, it’s a brilliant opportunity for everyone to learn and grow and understand each other. We all come from different ages, cultures, backgrounds and experiences, and have had different traumas, upbringings, parents, religious backgrounds and everything. Give people an opportunity to discuss things before you wipe out their entire person over a statement or a comment or a misunderstanding.”

We should support the cherished ideal of free expression by keeping our fingers off X, Instagram and Threads for a bit, always ready to silence others by advocating that they become permanent social outcasts.

A cancel culture cease-fire would send a strong signal that America 250 truly represents a unique way to express our collective liberty.

Stuart N. Brotman is Digital Media Laureate at The Media Institute and the author of “Free Expression Under Fire: Defending Free Speech: and Free Press Across the Political Spectrum.” He can be reached at snbrotman@gmail.com.