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Stand-up comedy star Nate Jackson says the cancel culture phenomenon — which many entertainers believe has held humor hostage in recent years — is finally winding down.
In a recent interview with Fox News Digital, the comic and actor said that with so many entertainment options available, audiences are simply finding people they like to watch rather than banding together to end the careers of performers whose jokes they don’t enjoy.
“No, I think that’s kind of a wrap,” Jackson said when asked if he believes cancel culture is still a threat. “Yeah, I think people realize that there is someone for everyone, and if someone’s not for you, then just don’t watch them.”
Stand-up comic Nate Jackson heralds the end of cancel culture in a new interview with Fox News Digital. (Stephen J. Cohen/Getty Images)
Jackson’s latest special, “Super Funny,” reached the third spot in Netflix’s top ten list when it premiered in July. The veteran comic’s set features a mix of high-energy crowdwork – where he improvises jokes based on audience interaction – and his more traditional stand-up material. The comic is also currently on his “Super Funny World Tour.”
Having been a rising fixture in the comedy sphere over the last few years – he even opened up his own comedy club in Washington state during the height of COVID – Jackson told Fox News Digital he sees clear signs that cancel culture is dying off.
He noted that even the most controversial comedian or voice has an audience these days.
“The craziest person who has an opinion, [their] podcast got a following,” he said.
Again, he said that viewers who don’t find someone funny have plenty of options for entertainment these days and shouldn’t get hung up on their gripes with a particular artist.
“So, if you don’t like it, just swipe away from it.”
Nate Jackson performing stand-up in Pasadena, California, earlier this year. (Michael S. Schwartz/Getty Images for ABA)
Cancel culture peaked shortly after 2020, with woke online mobs targeting public figures who made controversial or unpopular statements, encouraging others to boycott their work or call for an end to their careers. Comedians have felt the pressure of these efforts to curb their speech, with stars like Dave Chappelle and Jerry Seinfeld alleging that the phenomenon has restricted their ability to tell certain jokes.
In his 2019 special, “Sticks & Stones,” Chappelle referred to cancel culture as “celebrity hunting season,” and declared, “This is the worst time ever to be a celebrity. You’re gonna be finished. Everyone’s doomed. Michael Jackson has been dead for 10 years, and this n—- has two new cases!”
Seinfeld said in April 2024 that there’s not as much mainstream comedy anymore because the “extreme left” has deemed a lot of humor too offensive.
During a segment on The New Yorker’s Radio Hour, he said, “It used to be, you would go home at the end of the day, most people would go, ‘Oh, ‘Cheers’ is on. Oh, ‘MASH’ is on. Oh, ‘Mary Tyler Moore’ is on. ‘All in the Family’ is on.’ “You just expected, ‘There’ll be some funny stuff we can watch on TV tonight.’ Well, guess what — where is it?”
He concluded, “This is the result of the extreme left and PC crap and people worrying so much about offending other people.”
The comic would walk back his comments during a podcast later that year, saying, “I said that the ‘extreme left’ has suppressed the art of comedy. I did say that. That’s not true.”
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Jackson provided his perspective on what cancel culture really is, noting that a group of people coming together to bash certain jokes or artists is not necessarily a form of canceling, but rather consumers giving their opinion, which they’re entitled to have.
The comedian noted that the cancel culture happens when consumers make a concerted effort to end a person’s career.
“You have a right to your opinion and [to] say if you thought somebody’s art was good, bad, or whatever. Like, that’s the point of art. You put your stuff out for the world to perceive. Cancel culture is, ‘I saw your art, and now I don’t ever want you to do it again.’ You don’t gotta like it, but you don’t get to dictate whether or not somebody continues to do a thing. That’s the difference.”
“But if you go, ‘That was so trash, they should never make another movie again. Shame on James Gunn‘,” he continued, using the “Superman” director as an example. “I think that there’s a clear difference between cancel culture and just, ‘Oh, I didn’t like it.’”
“Tearing something down is your right to do as well. Telling the creator of it to never create again is the problem – or to not even exist. People have seen some people’s art and been like, ‘Yeah, yo, don’t you make another thing. We never wanna see you. That’s what cancel culture [is].”
