Why Dakota Johnson’s ‘Cancel Culture’ Comments Spoke Volumes
The popular saying goes, “Never meet your heroes.” But maybe a more appropriate piece of advice in today’s political climate is to never ask your heroes what they think about “cancel culture.”
On Wednesday, The Hollywood Reporter released a profile of Fifty Shades of Grey star Dakota Johnson in which she discusses her upcoming role in the Netflix film The Lost Daughter, her journey into acting and her star-studded family tree. At one point, reporter Tatiana Seigel asked about some of her previous male co-stars, specifically Armie Hammer, Johnny Depp and Shia LaBeouf, who have all faced allegations of abusive behavior in the past five years, including rape and domestic violence.
“I never experienced that firsthand from any of those people,” she said. “I had an incredible time working with them; I feel sad for the loss of great artists. I feel sad for people needing help and perhaps not getting it in time. I feel sad for anyone who was harmed or hurt. It’s just really sad.”
“I do believe that people can change,” she continued. “I want to believe in the power of a human being to change and evolve and get help and help other people. I think there’s definitely a major overcorrection happening. But I do believe that there’s a way for the pendulum to find the middle. The way that studios have been run up until now, and still now, is behind. It is such an antiquated mindset of what movies should be made, who should be in them, how much people should get paid, what equality and diversity look like. Sometimes the old school needs to be moved out for the new school to come in. But, yeah, cancel culture is such a fucking downer. I hate that term.”
Most people willing to straightforwardly denounce the behavior of those aforementioned actors would say that they hate the term “cancel culture” too, specifically the way it’s been wielded by right-wing pundits, conservative politicians and celebrities of practically all political affiliations to lament social progress and their perceived notions of censorship. Additionally, the perfunctory usage of the term by public figures without any acknowledgement of existing power structures, its origins on the internet or specificity regarding its actual outcomes, has made “cancellation” one of the most infuriating, stagnant topics.
“Most people willing to straightforwardly denounce the behavior of those aforementioned actors would say that they hate the term “cancel culture” too, specifically the way it’s been wielded by right-wing pundits, conservative politicians and celebrities of practically all political affiliations to lament social progress and their perceived notions of censorship.”
While celebrity reactions to cancel culture have become frequent in the news cycle, Johnson’s remarks about the “loss of great artists” feel particularly ironic considering her beloved status on progressive Twitter thanks to a famous interaction between her and Ellen DeGeneres from 2019 where she confronts the comedian/talk show host about not attending her birthday party on her show. The actress dryly uttering “actually, that’s not true, Ellen” and a screenshot of her…
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