‘It ruined my life’: Aussies stars who came back after being ‘cancelled’

It was a year when stars returned to the spotlight after personal and professional drama led them to near cancellation. Here’s what Candice Warner, Georgia Love and more had to say about coming back stronger than ever.

They are four very different women who faced very public controversies that lead to major backlash – and headlines.

At a time when we constantly hear about the concept of cancel culture, Bachelorette Georgia Love, media personalities Kate Langbroek and Jessica Rowe, and cricket WAG and author Candice Warner discussing are among those who have experienced it first hand.

Whether taken to task for voicing an unpopular or controversial opinion; publicly shamed after having an intimate moment splashed across the headlines; roundly condemned and fired for an error of judgement; or even vilified for the way they laugh, each of them have experienced a public backlash on a scale very few can imagine.

Candice Warner reflected on the moment that changed her life. Picture: Damian Bennett for Stellar

In a special summer series episode of Stellar’s podcast, Something To Talk About, we revisit a series of revealing interviews discussing the effects of being “cancelled”, with each woman revealing how they have emerged on the other side of getting cancelled.

Listen to the full episode on Something To Talk About below or wherever you get your podcasts

From Love, who was famously cancelled after a social media post prompted accusations of casual racism, to Langbroek who has vowed to keep speaking her mind with a directness she knows can be dangerous on national TV – and Rowe, whose ill-fated time on breakfast television 15 years ago unleashed a barrage of cruel commentary.

In an emotional interview, Warner opens up about the incident that, in her words, “ruined her life” when she was 22 years old. “Looking back, it was handled so poorly. It was really embarrassing,” Warner tells Something to Talk About.

“I put myself in a position I shouldn’t have. The thing is, it’s followed me. It still follows me.”

Listen to the summer series of Stellar’s podcast Something To Talk About below or wherever you get your podcasts

Originally published as ‘It ruined my life’: Aussies stars who came back after being ‘cancelled’