“And we would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for those dern … conservatives?”
The classic “Scooby Doo!” line is getting turned on its head these days, a hopeful sign Cancel Culture warriors may regret their scorched earth policies.
None other than Alyssa Milano is flexing her mighty Twitter account to reveal how conservatives, not liberals, are the driving force behind Cancel Culture.
No, the “Charmed” alum isn’t pulling our collective leg. The progressive activist Tweeted the following … with a straight face:
“Cancel culture is being weaponized by the right/Putin. Take notice of who they are targeting & what is trending. Are they trying to hurt Trump’s most vocal critics? Yup. The misinformation campaign has begun. Be vigilant in what you post on social media. Truth still matters,” she tweeted.
Let’s set aside the fact that she apparently still buys into the Russia collusion hoax. That’s something for which she should be pitied, at best.
The rest of the Tweet is instructive, though.
Cancel Culture is a creation of the Left. It targets apolitical (Kevin Hart, Jimmy Fallon) or right-leaning figures (Roseanne Barr, Diamond and Silk, Hank Williams, Jr. and more).
It gleefully looks away when conservative women are attacked (such as Melania Trump), proving its ideological roots.
Cancel Culture did knock on far-left comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s door recently. The “Jimmy Kimmel Live” host donned blackface multiple times on “The Man Show” to portray NBA superstar Karl Malone and Oprah Winfrey.
The culture at large ignored this for years, fawning over Kimmel and giving him the coveted Oscars hosting gig – twice. Imagine how angry Hart must get when he considers how his own Oscar-hosting gig got canceled for old, problematic jokes.
So conservatives, fed up with the blazing hypocrisy behind Cancel Culture, kept bringing up Kimmel’s “problematic” sketches. He finally had to apologize for them, a mea culpa brimming with anger.
“I know that this will not be the last I hear of this and that it will be used again to try to quiet me.”
“I love this country too much to allow that,” he wrote. “I won’t be bullied into silence by those who feign outrage to advance their oppressive and genuinely racist agendas.”
Note: Apologies that call your critics racists aren’t genuine.
The right-leaning Page Six attempted to “cancel” Howard Stern around the same time, recalling Stern’s repeated blackface appearances from days gone by.
Milano isn’t alone in trying to blame the right for Cancel Culture. Newsweek, an increasingly liberal outlet, played the same dubious card in a recent editorial.
A few notable anti-Trump celebrities have been attacked in the right-wing media and social media recently as part of the recent Black Lives Matter controversy.
The site name checks Donald Trump, Jr. who actually explains why conservatives are temporarily embracing Cancel Culture.
“To be clear, I’m 100 percent against punishing comedians for jokes, even bad jokes from unfunny hack comedians like Jimmy Kimmel…but according to the left’s own woke rules that @jimmykimmel wants to force others to live by, it’s hard to see how @ABCNetwork allows him to keep his show.”
The Trump son eloquently spelled it all out for Team Newsweek, yet the site still couldn’t see past its own ideological blinders.
Let’s try it again for them.
If the culture can cancel Roseanne Barr for sending one awful, racially charged Tweet and Defending Donald Trump, we can play the same game, too. To paraphrase an “Afterschool Special” cliché … “we learned it from watching you!”
In the past, conservatives would avoid such tit for tat tactics. The stakes are different now, and President Trump’s pugilism is rubbing off on the GOP.
Why would Newsweek publish such a silly story in the first place? Newsweek is afraid conservatives will follow Trump, Jr.’s lead.
One way to cripple Cancel Culture is to make sure the ones who started it feel its wrath.
It’s worth noting that neither Kimmel nor Stern got canceled in any significant way. Stern didn’t even attempt a phony apology while addressing the issue. He hasn’t faced any serious fallout since.
Kimmel’s long-running TV show remains under his control. He’s also slated to host the Emmy Awards gala in September.
Conservatives may be trying to play the Cancel Culture card against the Left. It might now work, though if their efforts lack the fear progressives instill in corporate America to back it up, they’ll end up as effective as a Scooby Doo! villain.
Christian Toto is the editor of the Colorado-based HollywoodInToto.com.
