The progressive political correctness movement has taken the world by storm over the last three decades, and now cancel culture has become so despised that even reliable Hollywood liberals are disagreeing with it.
What Happened?
Conan O’Brien manages a podcast called “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend”, he hosted actor Sean Penn, and they were both in agreement that the practice of collectively ostracizing people and destroying their livelihoods over past political incorrect statements was not right.
“Empathy is a very important word and also forgiveness,” O’Brien commented. “This whole concept of cancel culture is … We found that someone did something in 1979 that is now not appropriate. They’re dead to us.”
“This whole thing is ludicrous,” Penn, who in his heyday starred in hit movies such as “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” and “Mystic River,” said.
“People can also be forgiven — if they even need forgiving. What happened to that?” O’Brien continued. “It feels very Soviet sometimes,” he added.
“When we’re destroying careers like that, what are we really achieving?” Penn asked. “Or you look at politicians … I give a big nod to anyone that’s willing to enter the public arena who is doing so because they give a damn.”
What else?
This part of the conversation didn’t start until Conan O’Brien began heaping praise on Senn Penn for his portrayal of the San Francisco gay right activist Harvey Milk in the film “Milk” was premeried in 2008. Penn notdd that he didn’t think that today’s society would allow a straight man to play a gay character like they did back then.
“It brings up an interesting point,” the actor said. “Another one I think a lot about these days. Today, almost certainly I would not be permitted to be cast in that role. We’re living in a time when, if you’re playing a gay lead character, you’d have to be a gay man, or a trans character. And there have been these casting issues.”
He added: “When you have a period of evolution that certainly may provide an opportunity for people who have had less opportunities to move forward, that has to be supported. And yet in this pendulum swing society that we’re in, you wonder at some point if only Danish Princes can play Hamlet. It is, I believe, too restrictive. People are looking for gotcha moments and to criticize.”
Anything else?
Of course, Conan’s resistance to cancel culture is not all that surprising at the end of the day simply because comedians tend to make a living telling controversial jokes. On the other hand, Penn’s stance certainly raises a few eyebrows simply because he was literally a friend of communist strongman Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. Naturally, it’s fair to wonder if Penn bristled slightly at his friend Conan describing Cancel Culture as “Soviet.”
Penn also tried to do his own version of public shaming when he attempted – and failed – to call out a group of evangelical Christians. Who knows? Maybe former late-night comedian Conan O’Brien is more open-minded than we thought.