‘It was awful, I wouldn’t wish it on anyone’: Nikki Osborne on being cancelled
Nikki Osborne has revealed her personal experience of being “cancelled” twice, arguing that society's rush to silence those with different views is creating a toxic culture of intolerance.
We’re all brought up with different views and opinions on matters. Our views are shaped by our own lived experience and no two people have lived the same life so it would seem unreasonable to expect everyone to share the same opinion, right?
It always makes me laugh during election time the relentless arguing between people online trying to force their perspective on to someone else in an: “I’m right, you’re wrong” kind of way.
When will we accept that there’s not just one party who’s “good” and the rest are evil and must be vanquished? People vote for who represents what suits them and that’s how democracy works.
It’s not just politics either. Popstars, sport stars and Hollywood icons are also subjected to polarisation, or worse, CANCELLATION.
I hate cancel culture with a passion and yet it still seems virulent in our society. It’s stupid.
When Jimmy Kimmel recently got cancelled for his comments about political point scoring, the conservatives relished his vanquishment. Ha ha! Take that! It’s your turn now!
I was so disappointed. This is a group of people who were absolutely trodden on and cancelled for years during covid and now that they’re in power they’re wishing the same on the other side.
Have we learned nothing? Two wrongs don’t make a right and cancelling people achieves nothing. If anything, you’re creating martyrs.
I’ve been “cancelled” twice in my career. Both times by the “well intentioned” left who lumped on me in their thousands until I was de-platformed.
It was an awful experience and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. I struggled to understand how these anti-bullying advocates felt justified in bullying me into oblivion. They relished it. It was sick and twisted and the most ironic display of humanity I’ve ever witnessed.
Do I now wish the same fate on them? Absolutely not. Do I think everyone should be entitled to their own opinion even if I disagree? Absolutely.
That’s how it works. I get my say and you get yours. People get so caught up in being right that they make arseholes of themselves. I’ve always had the opinion: Being kind is of far greater value than being right.
Do you know how many arguments that motto has spared me from?
The other cancellation that broke my heart was Barry Humphries.
Despite creating the Melbourne comedy festival and inspiring generations of comics; putting Australian talent on the world stage, Barry was cancelled from his own festival all because of a few jokes he made that didn’t suit the political agenda at the time.
Imagine dedicating your life to comedy, making jokes for decades and then you make two jokes that misfire and that’s it, you’re cancelled. What upsets me more, however, is I know that at the time certain comedians were guilty of far worse and yet a blind eye was turned for those colleagues. Hmmmmm.
Many people would argue that they’re advocating for the oppressed when they cancel someone but I disagree.
I think it’s an irrational and immature response to someone who doesn’t share your opinion. It’s virtue signalling. It’s recreational outrage. And if we ever want to live on as a considerate, coherent society, it needs to stop.
Do you think it’s time we cancelled cancel culture?
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