Current Events > Seth Rogen doesn't understand comedians who complain about cancel culture

(+) Yeah! (+)

TommyG663513 posted...

That cancel culture can be many things of varying degrees of good or bad.

It is fair to critique and have discussions on what all of this means and what we hope to accomplish from this.

I'd also say you are being really oversimplifying what cancel culture is. Apologizing doesn't mean you don't get cancelled. There aren't clear and set rules. A lot of it just depends on what goes viral or what the media picks up.

But the examples you gave seem to be pretty obvious what the issue is?

Going by Google;
Shane Gillis used several racist and homophobic slurs in a bunch of rants and got fired from SNL over it. He didn't apologize and said he pushes boundaries.

Ari Shaffir called Kobe a rapist and said he should have died 23 years earlier than he did and his talent agency dropped him. If anything that's cancel culture backlash.

Tony Hinchcliff used a racist slur against another comedian coming onto the stage and never apologized for it.

So you've got a bunch of people getting cancelled over racist and general offensive behaviour instead of just jokes that didn't age well (all of these controversies are recent). This has always been a thing.

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TommyG663513 posted...

Shane said it in a podcast where he was clearly attempting to make a joke and Tony was very clearly on stage

It's weird how you are trying to limit what a comic does to "on stage." In a sense, comics always need to be "on stage" in all of the content they release. Like damn near every comic has a podcast where they kind of test jokes out. Some of them are writers on shows or movies.

Those jokes were just straight up racism disguised as bits tho

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Zeeak4444 posted...

it means your canceled. That no one promotes your product anymore.

that means no listing your podcast on the most popular hosting platforms.

just cause you didnt get to keep the job you wanted doesnt mean you got canceled.

So you have a very extreme view or what it means to be cancelled?

I don't get why people feel being cancelled means you must be wiped off the face of the earth

Google cancel culture
Wikipedia cancel culture
Urban dictionary cancel culture

You'll see a number of different explanations for what it is and it isn't exactly a clearly defined thing.

A vague definition of it would be ostracization attempts aimed at celebrities and the professional circles they belong to

I'm not sure where you get the idea that cancelled means you make absolutely zero money from comedy and have to start in a new career field and maybe legally change your name and appearance too

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Smackems posted...

Seth Rogan post this is the end is insufferable

This. He is clearly being very performative in all of his movies and media appearances now. I mean, I didn't exactly love how he was before either tbh. He was always my least favorite part of his movies.


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Cancel culture, like most things, usually hurts the less famous more than it does the famous.

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Darmik posted...

Ari Shaffir called Kobe a rapist and said he should have died 23 years earlier than he did and his talent agency dropped him. If anything that's cancel culture backlash.

It wasn't just that. Ari Shaffir openly celebrated not just Kobe's deaths but the deaths of everyone on the helicopter including children with what he said. So I think that factored in.

Plus Ari has openly admitted to drugging people without their consent and gaslit the victim (Burt) when confronted about it.

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Darmik posted...

Who has this happened to?

Well Donnie was trying to sue SNL because they were making fun of him. Does that count?
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Funnily enough I've never seen any discussion about it online but An American Pickle was pretty good and that actually has a little plot about how cancel culture is handled for people with dated beliefs.

Kastrada posted...

It wasn't just that. Ari Shaffir openly celebrated not just Kobe's deaths but the deaths of everyone on the helicopter including children with what he said. So I think that factored in.

Plus Ari has openly admitted to drugging people without their consent and gaslit the victim (Burt) when confronted about it.

Yeah makes total sense then. When has that sort of behavior ever gone down well?

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Kastrada posted...

It wasn't just that. Ari Shaffir openly celebrated not just Kobe's deaths but the deaths of everyone on the helicopter including children with what he said. So I think that factored in.

Plus Ari has openly admitted to drugging people without their consent and gaslit the victim (Burt) when confronted about it.

I'm still frustrated how quickly Burnt Chrysler forgave him on that one. Dude got drugged in his own house in front of his kids. Ari was like "we had a good time tho right?"

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TheGoldenEel posted...

Those jokes were just straight up racism disguised as bits tho

Shane Gillis was clearly attempting to play a character in his bit. The joke was that the character was racist.

Tony does more of a roast style. It came off pretty damn aggressive tho to say the least.

Do you think Tony was somehow not at all attempting to tell a joke and instead went on a racist tirade?

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The idea that people (famous people nonetheless) shouldn't face consequences for their actions is fucking absurd. If they said or did racist and other vile shit then they should be punished for their actions.

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Darmik posted...

But the examples you gave seem to be pretty obvious what the issue is?

Going by Google;
Shane Gillis used several racist and homophobic slurs in a bunch of rants and got fired from SNL over it. He didn't apologize and said he pushes boundaries.

Ari Shaffir called Kobe a rapist and said he should have died 23 years earlier than he did and his talent agency dropped him. If anything that's cancel culture backlash.

Tony Hinchcliff used a racist slur against another comedian coming onto the stage and never apologized for it.

So you've got a bunch of people getting cancelled over racist and general offensive behaviour instead of just jokes that didn't age well (all of these controversies are recent). This has always been a thing.

Lol, no it hasn't. Go.back to the 80's and every comic was massively homophobic. Go back to the 50's and Lenny Bruce gets arrested on stage.

Times and standards as well as punishments will always vary heavily.

You're also paraphrasing what happened to each comic in a super oversimplistic way and it's clear you just did a quick Google search as you said you did. Maybe look into them a lot more before you comment on them.

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NinjaWarrior455 posted...

The idea that people (famous people nonetheless) shouldn't face consequences for their actions is fucking absurd. If they said or did racist and other vile shit then they should be punished for their actions.

The idea is moreso that cancel culture is applied unevenly, inconsistently. That judgments are super quick and without any semblance of nuance.

A lot of people have this weird delusion that if you just apologize then everything is all good

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Didn't...Ari Shaffir drug his best friend?

Also celebrate a man's death?

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Covering his own ass ahead of time in case he ever becomes a target, hes fat but he aint dumb.

InhumaneRaider posted...

Didn't...Ari Shaffir drug his best friend?

Also celebrate a man's death?

Ari has done more than a few terrible things lol


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InhumaneRaider posted...

Didn't...Ari Shaffir drug his best friend?

Also celebrate a man's death?

He has a schtick where he jokes about famous people dying, Kobe wasn't the first time he did it, just the most visible time he did.

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gamer167 posted...

Covering his own ass ahead of time in case he ever becomes a target, hes fat but he aint dumb.

This is why he made Neighbors 2 and The Long Shot

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TommyG663513 posted...

Lol, no it hasn't. Go.back to the 80's and every comic was massively homophobic. Go back to the 50's and Lenny Bruce gets arrested on stage.

That's not what I'm saying. What is offensive now has changed from the 80s. If you offended people back then your career would also suffer.

TommyG663513 posted...

You're also paraphrasing what happened to each comic in a super oversimplistic way and it's clear you just did a quick Google search as you said you did. Maybe look into them a lot more before you comment on them.

The more I'm googling the worse it is? Shane outright said offensive comments about people who worked on SNL. Saying he was only playing a character isn't going to get very far.

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Dude weed

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pogo_rabid posted...

He has a schtick where he jokes about famous people dying, Kobe wasn't the first time he did it, just the most visible time he did.

Yeah Ari has a huge belief in not turning people into Gods and tearing down people's Idols

It was clearly Ari attempting to make something of a joke, but reading it came off way more angry to me and I didn't laugh or enjoy it at all honestly.

You have to admit that people got pretty psycho about Kobe's death. It's not surprising that was the one that Ari received the most backlash with. That is kind of the thing Ari was attempting to point out. Also, he hates the Lakers lol


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totalnerdken posted...

What a giant piece of shit. Made his money by making crude humor that could get you cancelled. But now that he's famous and doesn't have to use those kinds of jokes anymore, he's saying you shouldn't complain if you get cancelled if you choose to use that same kind of comedy. What an asshole.

How someone can read that article and have this takeaway is absolutely astounding to me


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Darmik posted...

That's not what I'm saying. What is offensive now has changed from the 80s. If you offended people back then your career would also suffer.

The more I'm googling the worse it is? Shane outright said offensive comments about people who worked on SNL. Saying he was only playing a character isn't going to get very far.

Also, the point I was making with saying in the 80's everyone was incredibly homophobic to say that maybe we shouldn't be so harsh on comics of today. We aren't going back and tearing down Eddie Murphy for his act back then. No one asks for him to apologize. Nope, him and damn near every comic from back then is still mostly revered.

Now you can do a good deal less and it will negatively effect your career.

I'm not saying it's wrong to hold people accountable. What I'm saying is that modern cancel culture is a good deal of an over correction that creates it's own problems.

What did Shane Gillis say? You're gonna have to be extremely specific if you're gonna try and make a counter point with that.

It was specifically the Asian slur bit that got Gillis a ton of attention and thus trouble.

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Gen z apparently thinks superbad is super problematic

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https://www.vulture.com/2019/09/snl-shane-gillis-racist-homophobic-remarks.html

It all raises the question: Did Saturday Night Live vet its new cast members? Its 2019, so at this point, theres really no excuse for this kind of slip-up. (Representatives for the show did not respond to a request for comment.) And while Gillis clearly put some effort into scraping his history from the internet beforehand, theres an entire subreddit dedicated to his podcast thats filled with homophobic slurs, even against current SNL writers, and its very easy to find on Google. Beyond that, sources in the Philadelphia comedy scene where Gillis lived and performed from 2014 through last year tell Vulture they were surprised to see the SNL casting news today given Gilliss material. Good Good Comedy Theatre stopped working with him within the past few years because of racist, homophobic, and sexist things hes said on and offstage, said Kate Banford, co-owner of the comedy theater. Another source added, Just want to say as a comedian who came up in Philly comedy at the time Shane was blowing up, [it] was extremely discouraging! As a queer female-bodied comedian, a man using the language he did and got so much recognition for was really disheartening.

I can't quote most of the stuff here because of the moderation risk

TommyG663513 posted...

Also, the point I was making with saying in the 80's everyone was incredibly homophobic to say that maybe we shouldn't be so harsh on comics of today. We aren't going back and tearing down Eddie Murphy for his act back then. No one asks for him to apologize. Nope, him and damn near every comic from back then is still mostly revered.

It's not the 80s anymore. Standards change.

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Kastrada posted...

It wasn't just that. Ari Shaffir openly celebrated not just Kobe's deaths but the deaths of everyone on the helicopter including children with what he said. So I think that factored in.

Plus Ari has openly admitted to drugging people without their consent and gaslit the victim (Burt) when confronted about it.

I didnt like that joke at all, but its something hes done with a lot of celebrity deaths so it wasnt that shocking for him. That was the first time he really got hit with that kind of joke though (I think) and his apology was lame

The drugging is something Ill never get behind though and what makes it worse is he did it again to Big Jay Oakerson on the Legion of Skanks podcast

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TommyG663513 posted...

The idea is moreso that cancel culture is applied unevenly, inconsistently. That judgments are super quick and without any semblance of nuance.

A lot of people have this weird delusion that if you just apologize then everything is all good

Cancel culture isn't some lotion that people rub on their hands. At best, its a psychological phenomenon, worthy of study and reflection, but even a most cursory consideration of the situation would reveal it is more complex than a singular manifestation. People who complain about it, though, inevitably fail to realise any of this.

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BeantownHero posted...

How someone can read that article and have this takeaway is absolutely astounding to me

It's pretty easy for Rogen to not complain about cancel culture when nobody has tried going after him despite him being a part of all sorts of problematic stuff. Like to the degree that a simple apology shouldn't be enough.

Or maybe he should just be cancelled for just playing a low effort stoner stereotype that just wasn't funny just straight hack

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Seth Rogen is just another opportunist trying to advance himself.

I don't buy for a second that he didn't know that James Franco was a creep. He just decided to throw him under the bus at a convenient time.

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Darmik posted...

https://www.vulture.com/2019/09/snl-shane-gillis-racist-homophobic-remarks.html

I can't quote most of the stuff here because of the moderation risk

It's not the 80s anymore. Standards change.

Get a different link beyond vulture my god. It'd be more credible if you linked me newsmaxx

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IShall_Run_Amok posted...

Cancel culture isn't some lotion that people rub on their hands. At best, its a psychological phenomenon, worthy of study and reflection, but even a most cursory consideration of the situation would reveal it is more complex than a singular manifestation. People who complain about it, though, inevitably fail to realise any of this.

What do you mean "more complex than a singular manifestation"?

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TommyG663513 posted...

So you have a very extreme view or what it means to be cancelled?

I don't get why people feel being cancelled means you must be wiped off the face of the earth

Google cancel culture
Wikipedia cancel culture
Urban dictionary cancel culture

You'll see a number of different explanations for what it is and it isn't exactly a clearly defined thing.

A vague definition of it would be ostracization attempts aimed at celebrities and the professional circles they belong to

I'm not sure where you get the idea that cancelled means you make absolutely zero money from comedy and have to start in a new career field and maybe legally change your name and appearance too

you keep talking about comedy like thats the only field.

the Dixie chicks were canceled.

These guys youre a huge fan of are just trash. Sorry Im not simping for dumbasses.

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TommyG663513 posted...

Get a different link beyond vulture my god. It'd be more credible if you linked me newsmaxx

Are you claiming they're faking quotes or something?

Racist rants like the ones he did against the Chinese got people fired for like 15 years at that point. Playing a character doesn't somehow make it okay.

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Darmik posted...

Are you claiming they're faking quotes or something?

Racist rants like the ones he did against the Chinese got people fired for like 15 years at that point. Playing a character doesn't somehow make it okay.

It wasn't a racist rant against the Chinese

Holy crap dude you need to listen to first hand accounts

Did you hear the "joke" in question that got all of the attention? It's being incredibly disingenuous to say he was having a rant against the Chinese

You don't have to have an opinion on this, but if you aren't really doing any effort or basic research then why are you trying to have an opinion?


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TommyG663513 posted...

It wasn't a racist rant against the Chinese

Holy crap dude you need to listen to first hand accounts

Did you hear the "joke" in question that got all of the attention? It's being incredibly disingenuous to say he was having a rant against the Chinese

You don't have to have an opinion on this, but if you aren't really doing any effort or basic research then why are you trying to have an opinion?

why are you still talking.

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Zeeak4444 posted...

you keep talking about comedy like thats the only field.

the Dixie chicks were canceled.

These guys youre a huge fan of are just trash. Sorry Im not simping for dumbasses.

Only one I like is Ari Shaffir. I actually really dislike the other two

And yes the Dixie Chicks are another great example of cancel culture and an example of right wing people doing it as well

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Zeeak4444 posted...

why are you still talking.

Your comeback is a blatant troll post?

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TommyG663513 posted...

Your comeback is a blatant troll post?

shut the fuck up.

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TommyG663513 posted...

Shane Gillis was clearly attempting to play a character in his bit. The joke was that the character was racist.

Tony does more of a roast style. It came off pretty damn aggressive tho to say the least.

Do you think Tony was somehow not at all attempting to tell a joke and instead went on a racist tirade?

Why is it when white comedians do blatantly racist stuff ie not jokes, you defend their actions.

But when Chapelle or any black guy makes a white joke (and only focus on their white jokes and ignore their jokes about any other racial group) you get pissed?

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TheLiarParadox posted...

shut the fuck up.

What do people expect from posts like this?

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TommyG663513 posted...

Yeah Ari has a huge belief in not turning people into Gods and tearing down people's Idols

It was clearly Ari attempting to make something of a joke, but reading it came off way more angry to me and I didn't laugh or enjoy it at all honestly.

You have to admit that people got pretty psycho about Kobe's death. It's not surprising that was the one that Ari received the most backlash with. That is kind of the thing Ari was attempting to point out. Also, he hates the Lakers lol

The point of comedy is to make people laff. If nobody laughs and instead get offended then how is it funny?

Balnazarr posted...

The point of comedy is to make people laff. If nobody laughs and instead get offended then how is it funny?

Yeah I didn't think it was funny

I only take issue with how insane the backlash to Ari was. Like damn Kobe isn't that big of a deal.

Ari can be extremely funny though and him metaphorically defecating on the graves of famous people has been a part of his deal. Not exactly my favorite part about him, but I don't need to like everything.

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Kastrada posted...

Why is it when white comedians do blatantly racist stuff ie not jokes, you defend their actions.

It's not just white comedians. Dude always goes to bat for white people behaving badly.

TommyG663513 posted...

What do people expect from posts like this?

For you to shut the fuck up. What can't you understand about that?

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TommyG663513 posted...

Did you hear the "joke" in question that got all of the attention? It's being incredibly disingenuous to say he was having a rant against the Chinese

Why don't you post the joke here and see what happens?

Oh yeah. Probably because it's offensive and racist.

TommyG663513 posted...

I only take issue with how insane the backlash to Ari was. Like damn Kobe isn't that big of a deal.

He died in a horrible accident where children also died and people were still grieving. Is it really that hard to understand why the backlash was so severe?

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TommyG663513 posted...

I only take issue with how insane the backlash to Ari was. Like damn Kobe isn't that big of a deal.

I get it that people don't watch or like sports. But yes, Kobe was a big deal. Especially factoring in the completely out of nowhere nature of his death

Ari COMPLETELY read the room wrong

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Darmik posted...

Why don't you post the joke here and see what happens?

Oh yeah. Probably because it's offensive and racist.

He died in a horrible accident where children also died and people were still grieving. Is it really that hard to understand why the backlash was so severe?

I could also describe skits from Chappelles show and many other shows that would get me modded on here. What is your point?

The reaction to Kobe's death was insane partially because people were insane. Everyone who made an obnoxiously long post after Kobe's death about how Kobe's death effected them personally needs to get a grip.on reality. That level of hero worship is stupid and nowhere near healthy.

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TheoryzC posted...

I get it that people don't watch or like sports. But yes, Kobe was a big deal. Especially factoring in the completely out of nowhere nature of his death

Ari COMPLETELY read the room wrong

I follow sports very much. No one should be put on that level. Kobe was just a dude. The massive outpour of tears was pathetic. No one should mourn a celebrity like that.

Also, I don't think you can accuse Ari of reading the room wrong. I don't think he was expecting an outpour of positivity. Dude seems to relish a bit in the negative attention.


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You are purposely ignoring the fact that Ari's tweet celebrating Kobe's death also meant he was celebrating three children dying. There is no way to cut that another way.

And you are also ignoring why is it you are defending those other two for saying blatantly racist shit but have a conniption when black guys make fun of white people yet never mention their jokes towards other races.

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TommyG663513 posted...

I could also describe skits from Chappelles show and many other shows that would get me modded on here. What is your point?

Even if that were the case you're comparing a TV show from two decades ago to a podcast from 2 years ago. So that's my point.

You'd have to be a total dumbass to think that going on a bunch of racist rants against Chinese people on a podcast was still an acceptable form of comedy. Which he himself knew when he attempted to delete the videos before SNL hired him.

TommyG663513 posted...

The reaction to Kobe's death was insane partially because people were insane. Everyone who made an obnoxiously long post after Kobe's death about how Kobe's death effected them personally needs to get a grip.on reality. That level of hero worship is stupid and nowhere near healthy.

Still doesn't justify being an asshole about a a helicopter crash that killed a beloved celebrity, his friend and their kids.

The majority of comedians were smart enough not to make 9/11 jokes immediately after it happened and the ones who didn't copped flack over it. This has literally always been a thing.

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As always, the defense of cancel culture is myopic while the claims against it are both myopic and more harmful.

We can recognize that the knee-jerk reactions are often overblown while also realize that people facing consequences for their own problematic behaviour (often consequences from their own employers, not random twitter mobs) is not just good, it's perfectly normal.

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