It seems ‘cancel culture’ has a new name: ‘consequence culture.’
This rebranding is actively being pushed by Republican leaders and influential conservatives, especially in the aftermath of political activist Charlie Kirk’s tragic assassination. Numerous individuals have faced job losses for comments deemed insensitive about Kirk. Notably, ABC even suspended Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show following remarks where he suggested ‘the MAGA gang’ was attempting to falsely label Kirk’s alleged murderer as a leftist.
This aggressive campaign, spearheaded by Kirk’s allies and amplified directly by the White House (with Vice President JD Vance urging citizens to report anyone ‘celebrating’ Kirk’s death to their employers), was until recently fiercely denounced by the right as ‘cancel culture’.
For years, conservatives used ‘cancel culture’ as a weapon, criticizing the left for attempting to professionally or socially marginalize individuals over perceived unacceptable statements or actions.
Now, many, including Kimmel’s supporters, are accusing the right of hypocrisy, arguing they’ve adopted the very ‘cancel culture’ tactics they once condemned. In response, some Trump loyalists are simply calling it ‘consequence culture’.
Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports, articulated this new viewpoint on X: “When a person says something that a ton of people find offensive, rude, dumb in real time and then that person is punished for it, that’s not cancel culture. That is consequences for your actions.”
Portnoy, however, declined to expand on these remarks when contacted via email.
This phrase is rapidly gaining traction across conservative media platforms, appearing in headlines such as National Review’s “‘Consequence Culture’ Comes for the Angry Left” and in posts from influential conservative activists like Riley Gaines, who succinctly declared on Wednesday night: “Cancel culture? No. Consequence culture.”
Despite its recent surge in popularity among many commentators, the concept of ‘consequence culture’ is far from new, and it certainly wasn’t coined by conservatives.
The term first emerged in the late 2010s, typically in the context of social media movements demanding accountability, often leading to the professional repercussions or social alienation of public figures for perceived insensitive or offensive remarks.
As ‘cancel culture’ became a widely recognized phrase for these movements, many conservatives passionately opposed it, arguing it stifled free speech.
Riley Gaines, a conservative political activist, championed ‘consequence culture’ this week, while liberal voice George Takei used the term as recently as this summer.
Meredith D. Clark, an associate professor of race and political communication at the University of North Carolina’s Hussman School of Journalism and Media, noted, “The right made it their brand to talk about resisting being canceled. And I have to give it to them, they are masters of branding.”
In response, those who advocated for accountability against offensive behavior began to distance themselves from the increasingly weaponized ‘cancel culture’ label.
For instance, actor Alex Winter, known for ‘Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure,’ tweeted in 2019 that “The term cancel culture is a bad faith fallacy,” specifically in the context of men facing repercussions in the entertainment industry due to sexual misconduct allegations.
He asserted, “There’s only consequence culture. It’s long overdue, and most of the exposed predators have yet to face meaningful consequences.”
Subsequently, the phrase made its way into mainstream media discourse.
In 2021, after former Fox News host Lou Dobbs’s show was canceled following a defamation lawsuit accusing him of spreading 2020 election conspiracy theories, then-CNN host Brian Stelter commented, “It is not cancel culture here. It is consequence culture. What are the consequences for riling up people with reckless lies about a democracy that most Americans cherish?”
This perspective was visually highlighted during a segment on CNN’s Reliable Sources in 2021, where Brian Stelter discussed his concept of ‘consequence culture.’
Similarly, in 2021, ‘The View’ co-host Sunny Hostin used the term to address Republican politicians’ attempts to distance themselves from the January 6th insurrection.
She powerfully stated on air: “We hear so much from the right talking about cancel culture, cancel culture. What they don’t want is a culture of accountability. They don’t want a consequence culture.”
More recently, George Takei, a respected liberal voice, shared a Facebook post this summer about an individual fired for self-identifying as a ‘fascist’ during a viral YouTube debate, underscoring the caption: “Freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequences.”
While the First Amendment protects freedom of speech, those who celebrate firings over controversial remarks often argue that this does not conflict with American liberty, as private entities are generally free to set their own employment standards.
A crucial distinction between the left’s and the right’s application of ‘consequence culture’ lies in the enforcers. Many individuals who lost their jobs for comments regarding Kirk’s murder were sanctioned by private employers, who typically have the right to do so.
However, Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension presents a different scenario, seemingly stemming from pressure by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), a government body. The First Amendment explicitly protects citizens from government restrictions on their speech, making this a potentially concerning precedent.
Adrian Daub, a Stanford professor and author of ‘The Cancel Culture Panic: How an American Obsession Went Global,’ sharply criticized this, stating, “That’s not cancel culture at all. By what definition of cancel culture is using the levers of state to get a guy fired from his media job ‘cancel culture’? We don’t need the fancy neologism. We know what that is. It’s just an authoritarian crackdown.”
Regardless of the label, Kirk’s supporters are wielding a term and a tactic they ironically adopted from their political adversaries.