Actress Willow Smith condemned cancel culture after saying she’s been seeing people “shame” each other amid the Black Lives Matter movement.
Willow made the comments during Jada Pinkett Smith’s Friday episode of “Red Table Talk.” Willow and Jada were joined by civil rights activists Tamika D. Mallory and Dr. Angela Davis during the show.
Cancel Culture | Red Table Talk
Tomorrow on Red Table Talk, the ladies are joined by Dr. Angela Davis and Tamika Mallory to discuss the topic of cancel culture and its effect in today’s climate. Watch the full episode tomorrow, on Facebook Watch.
Posted by Red Table Talk on Thursday, June 18, 2020
Jada brought the conversation to cancel culture after pointing out how some celebrities have recently lost their jobs amid the ongoing moment due to things they had said or done in the past.
“That is so prevalent right now,” Willow said. “I’m seeing people shaming others, like saying really terrible things, shaming people for what they’re choosing to say or shaming people for not really saying anything at all.” (RELATED: Obama Blasts Cancel Culture And Internet Outrage Cycles: ‘You Should Get Over That Quickly’)
“But I feel like if we really want change, shaming doesn’t lead to learning,” she added.
Mallory agreed that cancel culture is “dangerous.”
“Cancel culture is a little dangerous,” Mallory said. “It definitely is, because none of us are perfect.”
“It is a space that is a little difficult to maneuver because you do have to leave people room to make mistakes, to grow and to learn, but they have to show that they’re willing,” she continued.
This is such a good conversation and very important to understand.
“Canceling” someone doesn’t give them the opportunity to learn from their mistake and grow as a person. Sometimes, people are really terrible and you shouldn’t support them.
However, many times people are just ignorant and need to be educated. When they get “canceled,” they end up discouraged from understanding why what they said was wrong.
We need to have an open conversation and stop shaming people into submission.