In today’s society, cancel culture is a force to be reckoned with. It’s a movement for people who want change and accountability for serious problems in society. However, cancel culture for minor offenses is harmful, which would be the case for Drew Barrymore.
Recently, Barrymore’s decision to go on with “The Drew Barrymore Show,” despite her writers being on the Writers Guild of America strike, caused a lot of controversy. The public reacted quickly and harshly to the news, and many strike supporters took to Instagram to call Barrymore’s show resurrection “disappointing,” “disrespectful” and “tone deaf,” according to Today.
Cancel culture may hold people, organizations and public figures accountable for harming others or promoting harmful views, but not all actions deserve backlash, not all mistakes should forever be condemned.
Estefania Sevilla-Flores, a senior art major, feels Barrymore betrayed her writers by crossing the picket line.
“They (writers) put in a lot of work for her, just put in a lot of work that they don’t get a lot of credit for, especially for TV,” Sevilla-Flores said.
After announcing that the show would be back on Sept. 10, before the strike ended, Barrymore found herself in a difficult position. The writers on her show quit because she decided to resume taping her show before a deal was set, so Barrymore had to start the show without them, according to Deadline.
“It’s just very, like, tone deaf to do it. Like reading the room, I feel like it is a skill that a lot of us learn, and maybe she didn’t have the opportunity to learn it,” Sevilla-Flores said.
On Oct. 16, the premiere of Season Four of her show aired, and it was clear the show’s previous writers were not there. It’s hard to run a talk show without experienced writers.
The show lacked engaging questions and story depth, which made it seem like Barrymore needed to get new writers. Her current team needs to improve the show’s content and connection with viewers, but the show might not have the same impression without her former writers.
Instead of sending out an endless wave of scrutiny, people should give Barrymore a chance to make things right with her writers.
Cancel culture should be kept for important matters that affect people and communities. Hate speech, racism, sexual harassment and abuse of authority should be investigated and held accountable.
Even though Barrymore’s backlash was justified in its time, she apologized on Instagram through a now-deleted video.
“I know there is just nothing I can do that will make this OK to those that it is not OK with. I fully accept that. I fully understand that,” Barrymore said, according to Variety.
Barrymore knew there would be consequences, but she had a crew whose jobs were also on the line. So, canceling Barrymore for her good intentions would be wrong.
