The cancel culture involves socially blocking specific individuals from having a central public platform or career. This culture has become a splitting topic of debate where prominent individuals and celebrities experience public backlash when they speak offensive things. The adverse public reactions are sometimes unfounded and aim at suppressing famous people. Sergio Giavanni Kitchens, famously known as Gunna, has been a victim of the cancel culture. Fans and other musicians have referred to Gunna as a snitch due to his involvement with the criminal justice system. Although the cancel culture may result from unfounded allegations, a critical analysis of Gunna’s case shows that such practices harm his life and career.
Gunna experienced cancellation due to false allegations following his appearance and contributions in an alleged “Crime Stoppers” episode. Gunna denied all the gossip and stories that labeled him a snitch (Johnson par. 1). Gunna explained that people took his remarks out of context to brand him as a snitch. Fans and other musicians failed to base their allegations on underlying facts regarding Gunna’s remarks. For instance, Gunna claimed that the alleged snitch resulted from his remarks about his cousin, who was serving life in prison following accusations of a young girl’s death (Johnson par. 3). Gunna explained that he was defending his cousin’s innocence in the mentioned court case. In this case, Gunna engaged in a debate concerning criminal charges leveled against his close relative instead of informing other people. Gunna explains that he was not involved in any case or criminal activity as fans and other musicians alleged (Johnson par. 4). This explanation reveals that Gunna did not engage in a malicious conversation where he attempted to clear his name by accusing other people wrongly. Therefore, Gunna’s allegations of being a snitch resulted from misunderstandings and false accusations by supporters and fellow artists.
Gunna’s experience shows that the cancel culture causes damaging effects on an individual’s life. Gunna’s mentees and fans unfollowed him on Instagram following his ‘snitch’ labeling (Gee par. 1). This example shows that Gunna lost social support from his close allies. Such experiences may have damaging psychological effects on prominent individuals who strive to establish their careers and profession. Gunna experienced a hostile response from Rap fans following his social media posts (Gee par. 2). People engage in such actions to disapprove of a prominent individual’s social influence and relevance. The cancel culture denies people an opportunity to enjoy social support from their established audience. Appleman gives an example where the cancel culture forced Sherman Alexie, a renowned author, to abruptly suspend his book tour and cancel speaking arrangements at the Annual Convention of the National Council of Teachers of English (23). Relentless public scorn from the literary community negatively affected Alexie’s career and forced him to terminate most organized events. The resulting public rejection can negatively impact an individual’s successful career. Thus, Gunna’s experience relates to public cancellation leveled against other celebrities, which causes adverse effects on one’s life.
The damaging impacts of cancellation cultures affect individuals as opposed to their work. Appleman states that Alexie’s work quality and literature value remain despite his deteriorating reputation (23). Such impacts result from a new reproach that differs from the conventional practice of banning books. The emerging form of the cancel culture targets individuals instead of their work. Scholars like Dr. Tina Sikka define the cancel culture as shaming people in public for an unaddressed apparent social offense (Appleman 24). The aggrieved individuals direct their resentments toward celebrities who make undesirable remarks on existing issues. Besides, failure to effectively use conventional methods to settle such disputes exposes people to unpleasant social experiences. For instance, Gunna’s unsuccessful trial and five-year suspended sentence fueled his public cancellation (Gee par. 1). This example shows that failed reconciliation methods from established institutions can motivate people to attack and reject an individual. Such cancellations do not necessarily affect how people perceive an individual’s work. Hence, the cancel culture affects celebrities as opposed to the quality of their work.
The cancel culture causes negative impacts on celebrities’ career success. Owens provides an example where Kanye West and Lil Wayne gained career success despite their continued critics by progressives (4). The two artists are an exemption since their success resulted from political support by Trump’s administration. However, most artists and authors who experience public rejection need proper political backing. For instance, the majority and dominant Whites viewed R&B songstress Chrisette Michele as a traitor for regard President Donald Trump as a racist (Owens 4). The damaging resentments from most Americans affected Michele and her career negatively, despite the support by the minority African Americans. The public cancellation undermined Michele’s ambition to unite the country following Trump’s 2016 victory. Michele received death warnings, suffered a miscarriage because of chronic stress, lost a record deal, and experienced professional setbacks (Owens 4). These experiences reveal the negative impacts that the cancel culture can have on an individual to undermine career success. The inability to deal with the cancel culture’s aftermath prevents celebrities from succeeding in their career. Gunna faces a high risk of experiencing setbacks in his music career due to rejection from fans and fellow artists.
Contemporary cancel culture fueled by enhanced social media communication among young people increases its adverse impacts on artists’ careers. Owens gives an example where young people mobilize their social media followers to cancel unprincipled artists (8). Social media communication allows young people to reach a wider audience. In this case, youths can quickly spread negative information about an artist through social media platforms. Gunna experienced a mass unfollowing on social media platforms such as Instagram by his close allies (Gee par. 2). The continued use of social media to promote artistic work among young people increases the likelihood of artists’ experiencing mass rejection. Gunna may experience damaging impacts on his career due to the continued adverse reaction on Instagram among his key followers. Most rap music fans relentlessly ridiculed Gunna on Instagram following his first social media post in 2023 (Gee par. 2). This observation implies that Gunna may lose his ability to promote music through social media platforms. The continued broad rejection in social media reached a global audience, which may cause extensive damage to his future music career. Hence, social media communication increases the cancellation culture’s negative impacts.
In some extreme cases, the cancel culture undermines artists’ ability to advance their careers. For example, R. Kelly and his artwork experienced wide public condemnation for his unethical action of exploiting an underage girl (Matthes, “Sympathy for the Devil: Do Immoral Artists Make Worse Art?” 7). The example of R. Kelly shows that an artist’s action can influence people to reject artwork despite its quality and social or cultural impact. Canceling culture instills a sense of hatred towards artists and their work, undermining their ability to advance their careers. R. Kelly’s unethical deeds make his music a subject of moral and aesthetic criticism (Matthes, “Sympathy for the Devil: Do Immoral Artists Make Worse Art?” 8). This observation implies that R. Kelly’s audience regards his music as a tool for promoting immorality in American society. The long-term impacts of such notions include a total rejection of music or other artistic works. According to Gee, Gunna experiences reprimand from the criminal justice system, and the rap world (par. 6). Gunna’s fame makes him a suitable target from the legal and social worlds, which can undermine his ability to promote the music career. Gunna’s extensive rejection, which resembles that of R. Kelly, may influence people to disregard his music as ethically appropriate. Hence, the cancel culture influences people to reject an artist’s work, undermining the ability to promote and advance a music career.
The cancel culture will wipe out Gunna from the rap music industry in the future. According to Gee, Anti-Blackness, capitalism, and the zest for social media encourage rap fans to discard famous artists (par. 8). The ability to communicate and share resentments through social media allows the audience to castigate artists without considering the accuracy of the allegations. The ability to interact with a large audience through social media gives people the courage to reject artists and their work. The cancel culture in the arts industry aims to erase rather than criticize the victims (Matthes, “Performing the Art World: Should Immoral Artists Be Cancelled?” 79). People who engage in extreme critics aim to suppress artists to the extent of halting their career development. Gunna may experience a decline in his career progression due to the ongoing critics and rejection by fans and fellow musicians. The cancel culture in arts involves a general disposition to engage in automatic calls to reject and ignore musicians based on moral behaviors or words (Matthes, “Performing the Art World: Should Immoral Artists Be Cancelled?” 78). Gunna may experience such effects as people may reject his music based on his speech against gun violence. Eventually, Gunna may lose relevance in the American rap music industry due to widespread dismissal.
In summary, the cancel culture occurs due to unfounded allegations about an artist or author. Gunna is a renowned rap musician who experienced public rejection due to comments he made during a television interview. The cancel culture influences people to reject artists and their work for engaging in unethical actions or making unacceptable remarks. A critical analysis of Gunna’s case shows that the ongoing public rejection may damage his life and career in the long run. People may disregard his contribution to the rap music industry and consider him an unethical artist. The cancel culture in arts focuses on wiping out artists and their work instead of correcting them.
Appleman, Deborah. “Authors in Peril: The cancel culture and #MeToo.” Literature and the New Culture Wars: Triggers, The cancel culture, and the Teacher’s Dilemma, St. Martin’s Press, 2022, pp. 21–41.
Gee, Andre. “The Courts Screwed Gunna, Now He’s Being Shunned by His Peers.” Rolling Stone, 18 Jan. 2023, www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/gunna-shunned-by-his-peers-ysl-trial-1234663256/.
Johnson, Zoe. “Gunna Talks Snitch Rumors: ‘I Ain’t Never Stop a Crime.’” XXL Mag, 2020, www.xxlmag.com/gunna-talks-snitch-rumors/. Accessed 4 May 2023.
Matthes, Erich Hatala. “Performing the Art World: Should Immoral Artists Be Cancelled?” Drawing the Line – What to Do with the Work of Immoral Artists from Museums to the Movies, Oxford University Press, 2021, pp. 75–95.
—. “Sympathy for the Devil: Do Immoral Artists Make Worse Art?” Drawing the Line – What to Do with the Work of Immoral Artists from Museums to the Movies, Oxford University Press, 2021, pp. 7–21.
Owens, Ernest. “Introduction.” The Case for The cancel culture, St. Martin’s Press, 2023.