Cancel culture is a hot topic again after MSNBC’s Alison Morrison accidentally called the LA Lakers, the “LA N-word.” Morrison claims she said “Nakers,” and MSNBC is standing behind her, predictably, and most likely nothing will happen to her. But why the double standard? When Roseanne Barr tweeted out the fateful comparison of former Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett, likening her to one of the characters from Planet of the Apes, she was offered no mercy, even though her claim was that she had no idea Jarrett was part black. Instead, Roseanne was canceled. No one offered to take her at her word that it was a mistake and she did not know Jarrett’s heritage. When weatherman Jeremy Kapell accidentally said “coon” when trying to say “King,” he was fired from NBC.
But there are people for whom endless mercy and forgiveness is offered no matter what they do. Curiously, all of them are Democrats or leftists. Here are a few.
5. Joy Behar
Joy Behar showed a photo of herself in blackface for a Halloween costume claiming she was dressed as a “beautiful African woman” and nothing happened to her. Conservative media pointed out the obvious hypocrisy that if it had been anyone connected to Fox News who did that, she would be fired immediately. In fact, Megyn Kelly was fired from NBC for talking about blackface, and not condemning the use of it for Halloween. Kelly did not don blackface, she just said she wasn’t offended by it for a costume and was fired, while Behar actually did it and no one cared. Behar still has her job.
.@DonaldJTrumpJr: "Joy, you've worn blackface."
Joy Behar: "No I have not."
Also Joy Behar: 👇 pic.twitter.com/oDOJJ58A5y
— M3thods (@M2Madness) November 7, 2019
4. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam
Not only did Governor Ralph Northam wear blackface, he might have dressed up in a white sheet as a KKK member for Halloween. Yearbook photos show him as one or the other (he says he doesn’t remember which one is him). Democrats did not care one bit. The media, outside of conservative media, basically ignored it until it went away. When they did write about it, it was to highlight his apology and praise him. Fox News reported the Washington Post’s quick turnaround from calling for his resignation to singing his praises.
“The history of U.S. politics is full of second chances- of scandal-scarred, disgraced and irredeemable public figures staging improbable comebacks – but few back-from-the-dead narratives have been as swift and sure-footed as the one Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has managed this year,” the Post wrote.
They decided that the Democrat governor could be forgiven for racist Halloween costumes because he refocused his governorship “on racial equity and reconciliation in what amounted to an extended act of public contrition and atonement,” which it then called “astonishingly effective.” Governor Northam still has his job.
Virginia governor’s yearbook page shows men in blackface, wearing KKK hood #US #Virginia #Politics #Racism #Democracts #DemocraticParty #KKK #KKKNortham #Blackface https://t.co/obPotaHy3t pic.twitter.com/Seck7oQqWp
— Time For Truth (@Time4TruthNews) February 3, 2019
3. James Gunn
Director of Guardians of the Galaxy, James Gunn was found to have hundreds of tweets about pedophilia that were so disgusting that reprinting them would be offensive. He was fired from the Disney franchise because of it. The entire cast rallied around him and within a very short period of time, Gunn was rehired quietly while no one was watching.
USA Today reported his rehiring eight months after the firing. Gunn’s apology was accepted and everyone moved on as if he had not joked about raping children, over and over.
“My words of nearly a decade ago were, at the time, totally failed and unfortunate efforts to be provocative. I have regretted them for many years since — not just because they were stupid, not at all funny, wildly insensitive, and certainly not provocative like I had hoped, but also because they don’t reflect the person I am today or have been for some time.”
Donald Trump Jr. pointed out the extreme hypocrisy of Disney’s actions. The only reason Gunn got his job back is because he holds the appropriate anti-Trump views. Had he been an Trump outspoken supporter like Roseanne, there’s no chance he would have been rehired. Keep in mind, Disney is the same company that fired Roseanne. They did not accept her multiple apologies.
I’m sure Media Matters will be all over this given how terrible and voluminous his comments were… or is there just a very different standard for conservatives??? https://t.co/DuSyIhip6d
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) March 15, 2019
2. Joy Reid
“Homophobia,” or disagreeing with the LGBT crowd as it is otherwise known, is grounds for cancelation, as Joy Reid of MNSBC almost found out. Luckily for her she votes the right way. When her old blog posts became public where she told politically incorrect jokes about gay people, and expressed the opinion that heterosexual people find gay sex unpleasant, the wokescolds almost destroyed her, but pulled back at the last second to accept her groveling apology. Reid first tried to claim she was hacked, that the posts were faked, until she could not continue that farce and instead opted to disavow herself. MSNBC accepted her apology and Reid is still an employee. If Reid were a Fox News contributor, like Tucker Carlson or Laura Ingraham, does anyone think that kindness would be extended to them? MSNBC issued a statement of support for Reid.
“Some of the things written by Joy on her old blog are obviously hateful and hurtful,” said a statement by MSNBC. “They are not reflective of the colleague and friend we have known at MSNBC for the past seven years. Joy has apologized publicly and privately and said she has grown and evolved in the many years since, and we know this to be true.”
But when a person like Roseanne apologizes publicly and privately, her words fall on deaf ears. Why is that? “Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show,” said ABC. The only difference between any of these people and Roseanne is their political affiliation.
1. Justin Trudeau
Speaking of blackface, simply no one on the planet enjoys it more than Justin Trudeau and yet he remains the most popular leftist of all. Trudeau could wear blackface tomorrow to a Black Lives Matter event and be welcomed with open arms. Not only does he love blackface, but he also enjoys dressing up in cultural costumes that would be called “cultural appropriation” if anyone on the right did it. Somehow, he gets a pass.
It really is shocking to see PM @JustinTrudeau dressed in blackface and a turban.
Can Trudeau get away with something no other political candidate would survive?
Read & RT #cdnpoli #elxn43 #blackface #Brownface https://t.co/Dmns2icXx8 pic.twitter.com/gWmgnlEiQO— Brian Lilley (@brianlilley) September 19, 2019
Going to keep asking this – now to those with the #IStandWithTrudeau hashtag:
If @JustinTrudeau didn't know #blackface was racist
What about the accompanying bananas t-shirt, the raising of his arms & sticking his tongue out, & the fake bulge in his pants?
#cndpoli #elxn43 pic.twitter.com/U5JZPU32hx— Jonathan Ross (@tdhross) September 20, 2019
Namaste: #Canadians come take your PM back to #Ottawa ! #ThatMomentWhen Indians lamented that #JustinTrudeau is being more #Indian than them! #India #TrudeauInIndia #DiplomaticFail #SophieTrudeau pic.twitter.com/zKbY7dRKtw
— Sewuese Bem (@SewuBem) February 23, 2018
It should be clear by now who Cancel Culture is really after and why we should fight like hell to make sure the “New Rules” are applied equally. If Roseanne Barr and Jeremy Kappell had to lose their jobs because of a mistake and lapse in judgement, then so should anyone else who makes the same mistake. And if that’s not going to be how this works, then no one should lose their jobs over free speech (or flubs!) in America.
Megan Fox is the author of “Believe Evidence; The Death of Due Process from Salome to #MeToo,” and host of The Fringe podcast. Follow on Twitter @MeganFoxWriter
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