‘What Happens Next’: Are We Too Quick to Cancel?
Public opinions and attitudes shift, but the internet is forever.
In recent years, we’ve seen example after example of entertainers and comedians “cancelled” by pop culture for old tweets and bad behaviour, even if the artists themselves have evolved.
In an all-new series of What Happens Next?, an all-star lineup of comedians discusses the future of comedy with host Dr Susan Carland. Comedy holds up a mirror to society, but what happens when society doesn’t like what it sees? Where’s the line between humour and offence? And is it really a comedian’s job to represent an entire group of people, and to wake audiences up with powerful emotional breakthroughs – or is it just to make you laugh?
Our guests on this episode are Monash Faculty of Arts historian Dr Tony Moore, and comedians Nazeem Hussain, Michael Shafar, Peter Helliar, and Prue Blake.
“The problem with cancel culture for me is it doesn't give anyone a chance to evolve. We all make mistakes. If you're a comedian, you’re trying to reflect society at that time. Now, sometimes you get it right, sometimes you get it wrong, but this idea that you can go back 20 years and find somebody's tweet that they did when they were exactly 20 years younger, it's problematic, and I think it's unfair, particularly if it's not a pattern of behaviour.”
Pete Helliar
If you’re enjoying the show, don’t forget to subscribe on your favourite podcast app, and rate or review What Happens Next? to help listeners like yourself discover it.
Listen to more What Happens Next? podcast episodes