In this week’s lecture we learned about the ethics of virality. Within this section were topics such as Cancel Culture and Call Out Culture. It seems that in today’s social media society there is a new celebrity being “cancelled” every other day. Most times on Twitter you’ll find a trending hashtag with #(celebrity name)cancelled.
The latest celebrity to fall victim to Cancel Culture was Vanessa Hudgens. In an Instagram live video on March 16th she voiced her opinion about the Coronavirus social-distancing regulations and had made the comment “Um, yeah, ’til July sounds like a bunch of bulls—. I’m sorry. It’s a virus, I get it. Like, I respect it. But at the same time, like, even if everybody gets it, like, yeah, people are gonna die, which is terrible but, like, inevitable?”.
Fans, followers and the public took to Twitter to “cancel” Hudgens using the hashtag #VanessaHudgensIsOverParty. She was referred to as being “cancelled” and slandered for her simple-minded comments regarding the Covid-19 crisis. She was publicly shamed on social media so badly that by the next day she issued a statement on Twitter apologizing for her insensitive comments. Hudgens turned off all Instagram comments on her posts because the public was calling her out on any outlet that they could. The speed of this viral movement compromised her career and public image in a matter of hours.
She sure was held accountable for her comments as people are still talking about the incident one month later. Her comments on her Instagram posts were only turned back on 3 days ago and since the incident, she has advocated for Stay Home measures encouraging her followers and the public to stay isolated while this virus runs its course. Her instagram bio currently reads “STAY IN!! Don’t go out. Let’s get thru this together”.
Theresa Tumminello 