And the 2022 award for canceled celebrity in a public drama goes to — a list of high-profile stars and organizations.
Whether one is a political figure, part of Hollywood’s elite, an ordinary person, or a company, all it takes is one public mistake or problematic view before someone’s career is over and their misdeeds are smeared all over social media.
But what exactly is cancel culture? When did it actually begin? Dr. Jill McCorkel, a professor of sociology and criminology at Villanova University, told the Post that cancel culture has always been integrated into our society.
“Cancel culture is an extension of or a contemporary evolution of a much bolder set of social processes that we can see in the form of banishment,” said McCorkel. “[They] are designed to reinforce the set of norms.”
So, without further ado, here are the stars and organizations that were canceled in 2022:
Adam Levine
The Maroon 5 frontman got the ax after it was alleged that he had cheated on his wife, Behati Prinsloo, with whom he shares two children.
Levine, 43, was accused of having an affair with Sumner Stroh as well sending flirty messages to several other models.
Stroh first went public with the accusations in a deleted TikTok video which claimed the “Moves Like Jagger” crooner “manipulated” her into having a relationship with him.
Levine denied the dalliance went beyond social media.
“I used poor judgment in speaking with anyone other than my wife in ANY kind of flirtatious manner,” Levine said in a statement. “I did not have an affair, nevertheless, I crossed the line during a regrettable period of my life.”
Shia Labeouf
Former child star Shia Labeouf was canceled this year after the “Transformers” star’s ex-girlfriend FKA Twigs accused him of abuse — thereby dimming his return to stardom.
Twigs, 32, accused Labeouf, 34, of sexual battery, assault and infliction of emotional distress. She said he even threatened to crash the car they were both in if she did not profess her love for him.
Recently, Labeouf was fired from the thriller “Don’t Worry Darling” after director Olivia Wilde said that she sought to “protect” Florence Pugh from the “Even Stevens” actor.
Labeouf denied the accusations and said he quit due to scheduling conflicts.
“Firing me never took place, Olivia. And while I fully understand the attractiveness of pushing that story because of the current social landscape, the social currency that brings. It is not the truth,” Labeouf wrote in an email to Wilde.
Labeouf was replaced by Harry Styles who had a well-publicized relationship with Wilde.
James Corden
James Corden made headlines in October after he reportedly screamed at wait staff at New York’s iconic Balthazar restaurant which initially earned him a life-long ban from the eatery.
“James Corden is a Hugely gifted comedian, but a tiny Cretin of a man. And the most abusive customer to my Balthazar servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago,” owner Keith McNally, 71, wrote in a scathing Instagram post.
McNally later forgave the “Late Late Show” host saying that he is a firm believer in second chances.
Cordon, 44, later apologized to McNally and said that he was working on anger issues he developed during his rise to stardom.
Ellen Degeneres
Another TV personality that found herself on the wrong side of pop culture is Ellen Degeneres — who was accused of being unkind to staffers.
The world shunned the once-beloved daytime talk show host after word got out about how abusive she was to her staff when the cameras were not rolling.
Ellen DeGeneres’ former protégé, Greyson Chance, from Oklahoma, once said he had “never met someone more manipulative, more self-centered and more blatantly opportunistic than her.”
Ezra Miller
Ezra Miller’s star power was replaced in a flash after the “Justice League” star was arrested several times for various things, including drunk and disorderly conduct and allegedly grooming a teenage girl.
Several fans of the “Perks of being a Wallflower” star have called on DC to cancel his upcoming film.
Miller later issued an apology and said that he would seek mental health treatment.
“Having recently gone through a time of intense crisis, I now understand that I am suffering complex mental health issues and have begun ongoing treatment,” Miller, 29, said in the statement.
“I want to apologize to everyone that I have alarmed and upset with my past behavior. I am committed to doing the necessary work to get back to a healthy, safe and productive stage in my life,” they continued.
Joe Rogan
Podcaster Joe Rogan faced cancelation this year after several clips of him dropping a racial slur emerged online.
Rogan, 55, called the stunt a “political hit job.”
“They’re taking all this stuff that I’ve ever said that’s wrong and smooshing it all together,” said Rogan.
The backlash started after the embattled podcast host allegedly started “broadcasting misinformation, particularly regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Rogan later apologized and said that he was not trying to spread misinformation.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas
Justice Clarence Thomas was sentenced to his cancelation after siding with conservative judges when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
The Republican appointee came under fire in June when he sided with Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts and Samuel Alito.
“Because any substantive due process decision is ‘demonstrably erroneous,’” Thomas wrote, “we have a duty to ‘correct the error’ established in those precedents.”
Thomas was allegedly then subjected to several death threats from angry citizens after suggesting that the Supreme Court revisit the case that legalized same-sex marriage.
“In future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell,” Thomas wrote.
Bette Midler
Better Midler faced her curtain call in July after tweeting about the trans community and the language used to describe them.
“WOMEN OF THE WORLD! We are being stripped of our rights over our bodies, our lives and even of our name,” scribed the “Hocus Pocus” star. “They don’t call us ‘women’ anymore; they call us ‘birthing people’ or ‘menstruators,’ and even ‘people with vaginas!’ Don’t let them erase you! Every human on earth owes you!”
Online critics immediately slammed the “First Wives Club” star saying that the language used erases members of the trans community.
The “Beaches” star fired back saying that her tweet was about women in a response to New York Times article on July 3rd and there was no intention of anything exclusionary or transphobic in what she said.
Lady Susan Hussey
The former lady-in-waiting left in November after it was revealed that she made a racist remark to domestic abuse campaigner Ngozi Fulani while at Buckingham Palace.
Fulani said that the former royal aide asked her “where she was from” and after the activist said she was a British citizen, Hussey said, “where are your people from?”
The exchange went viral on Twitter causing Hussey to resign mere hours after the post.
A spokesperson from Buckingham palace said “unacceptable and deeply regrettable comments” had been made.
Ticketmaster
Ticketmaster caused “bad blood” with Taylor Swift fans after denying them tickets for her highly anticipated “Era’s” tour.
Swifties queued up in line for as long as eight hours for tickets to either be dropped in the middle of waiting or to be told that no more tickets were available.
Fans of the “Midnight” singer actually sued the ticketing company for fraud and intentional misrepresentation.
Ticketmaster said more than 3.5 million people pre-registered for sale, the largest registration in the company’s history. Some 1.5 million fans were given a promo code for the verified fan presale, while the other 2 million were placed on a waiting list.
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti vowed to investigate Ticketmaster after his office was flooded with messages from irate concert hopefuls.
Kanye West
Yeezy come, Yeezy go. Kanye West faced a spectacular fall from grace this year after the “Heartless” rapper unleashed a storm of anti-semitic remarks.
West was banned from both Instagram and Twitter for spewing hateful remarks.
In addition to the ban, West was dropped by GAP, Balenciaga and Adidas which carried his “Yeezy” Brand.
Fans have attempted to rally behind West and set up a GoFundMe in an attempt to get the rapper back to his billionaire status, however, the site shut it down only after making $5.
Balenciaga
The fashion brand suffered a major design flaw in November after it was slammed online for “creepy” advertisements that featured children alongside “BDSM” bears.
Online shoppers spotted the adverts and were infuriated, calling the images “frightening,” “creepy” and “wrong.”
Balenciaga designer Demna addressed the comments and vowed to “engage with child protection organizations.”
“I want to personally apologize for the wrong artistic choice of concept for the gifting campaign with the kids and I take my responsibility. It was inappropriate to have kids promote objects that had nothing to do with them,” the 41-year-old wrote on Instagram.
“As much as I would sometimes like to provoke a thought through my work, I would NEVER have an intention to do that with such an awful subject as child abuse that I condemn. Period,”
“I need to learn from this, listen and engage with child protection organizations to know how I can contribute and help on this terrible subject,” he continued.
The fashion brand had initially filed a $25 million lawsuit against one of the producers of the ad but has since withdrawn the motion.
Will Smith
Everyone will remember where they were when they heard the slap that echoed around the world.
Will Smith experienced the stinging sensation of cancel culture after slapping actor and comedian Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars.
One of the defining moments of 2022 came after Rock, 57, made a joke about 50-year-old Jada Pickett Smith’s alopecia by asking her if she was going to be in “G.I. Jane 2.”
The “Fresh Prince” star later apologized to Rock on Instagram saying that he acted emotionally.
“My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about my Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally,” wrote the actor.
“I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris,” Smith wrote in his statement. “I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.”
Rock, however, was not so quick to forgive.
“The motherf–ker hit me over a bulls–t joke, the nicest joke I ever told,” he said, in part, to tour mate Dave Chapelle earlier this month.
The Academy turned around and slapped Smith with a 10-year ban that prohibits him from attending the award ceremony.