cancel culture

Taking center stage in a prestigious Spanish film festival to receive a top career award, actor Johnny Depp presented himself as a victim of the “cancel culture” that, he said, has spread across the cinema industry.

Sharon Osbourne declared she isn’t a “racist” on “Real Time With Bill Maher” when discussing her exit from “The Talk” following controversial comments about Piers Morgan.

Those calls for unity didn’t last very long. Garth Brooks’ performance at the presidential inaugural is causing a firestorm among some of the more conservative members of his fanbase.

“Cancel culture” came into being as people learned to harness the power of social media to hold others accountable for bad behavior, particularly racism and sexism. But as the power to “cancel” has grown, some have wondered if it can go too far. Can cancel culture be made more constructive?

So you’ve probably read a lot about “cancel culture.” Or know about a new poll that shows a plurality of Americans disapproving of it. But can you say exactly what “cancel culture” is?

Last month, the Chicks announced they’d dropped the “Dixie” from their well-known musical moniker, and on Friday morning, they opened up to TODAY’s Carson Daly about that meaningful move and their new music — and about whether or not they consider themselves to be pioneers of cancel culture.

Either loudly sing your own praises or don’t in the new year, but let’s leave the humble brag behind, along with a few other oversaturated, cloying or just plain silly cultural quirks that deserve a big goodbye. Among them are pop-up shops, cancel culture and the ever-present “OK Boomer” retort on social media. With much ado about something, here’s...