My students have to write an essay this week on any controversial topic of their choosing. They have to state their opinion and support it using at least three different reasons, each supported in their own right. Topics include the reëlection of former President Trump, the right of trans women to participate in women’s sports, the status of digital art, involuntary mental-health therapy for teenagers, Disney’s financial donations to anti-gay politicians in Florida, and more.
One student elected to address “cancel culture,” though he has little understanding of the issue’s nuances. That’s where his research will come in, and I look forward to seeing his opinion develop.
When discussing examples of cancel culture with him this morning, he began by bringing up Bill Cosby. I explained to him that there’s a difference between “cancel culture” and being held accountable for one’s criminal acts. Instead, I suggested he consider the case of another world-famous comedian, Louis C.K.
In 2017, Louis C.K. published an open apology letter in The New York Times. He admitted to exposing himself to women who felt unable to reject his advances due to his influence in the entertainment industry. Though he claimed he never exposed himself to a woman without first asking her permission, he realized — now that their story was public — that the women did not feel safe enough to reject him.
He ended his letter by saying he would now “step back and take a long time to listen.”
After publishing the apology, Hollywood canceled its relationship with Louis C.K. His recently-completed movie did not get released. He lost deals with Netflix, HBO, and TBS. His animated characters received new voices (even in reruns). He later claimed the incident cost him $35 million.
About nine months later, Louis C.K. returned to the stage in New York City and began his comeback, which later blossomed into national and international tours.
Three years and one pandemic later, over 12,000 members of the Recording Academy voted to give Louis C.K. the award for “Best Comedy Album” at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.
Whose culture, I wonder, is being canceled?
I have very little doubt that Louis C.K.’s award-winning album is funny. Before deciding I didn’t want to give him any more of my money, I found Louis C.K.’s comedy to be nothing short of genius.
Its genius, however, required irony, and C.K.’s actions removed irony from the table. While creepiness had always been a conscious part of his comedy, without irony, all that was left was a creep. I didn’t want to give any more of my money to a creep.
Of course, my lack of support hasn’t stopped him. He’s a comedian. He tells jokes. And he tells them well enough for people to pay him for the privilege to hear them.
(I question the character of those who still choose to give him their money, but I questioned my own character for watching the NFL, and look how much that changed the world.)
He tells them so well, in fact, that I once crafted an etymological argument explaining why he should be invited back onto the world’s stage: because maybe only he had the genius to help us…(alas)
Louis C.K. tells jokes. People pay to hear them. All the power to him.
But I’m choosing not to listen. That’s not called canceling. That’s called “Moving on.”