I know, I know.

Last week I said I was never gonna write about the Will Smith slap ever again but, in my defence, I didn’t think white folks and their Stephens were gonna keep this spectacle up. But today, as the bullshit narratives worsen, I think it’s important to address something far larger than the incident itself: white folks are trying to cancel Will Smith.

While some famous Black folks, from Harry Lennix to Wanda Sykes, have stepped up demanding Will face accountability for his actions, Hollywood has gone from distancing themselves from him to treating him like a pariah. As news rolls in about the decade long Oscars ban, the potential LAPD prosecution and the cancellation of multiple film projects, amid a constant storm of media-driven backlash, Will is experiencing exactly what white men tell you is their greatest problem with our ‘modern-leftist’ society – and yet, not a single fucking one of them is standing up for Will.

In fact, the most fascinating aspect of the fallout from the Will Smith slap is how infrequently we’ve heard the term “cancel culture”. Even the same white men who, every-fucking-day, tell us that their words having any consequence is indicative of oppressive “cancel culture” have now become quiet as church mice about what’s happening to Will – which is the literal example of everything they say they fear.

The truth is, the greatest trick ignorant, prejudice, entitled white men ever pulled was convincing niggas that they were all equally at risk of “cancel culture.” Every single time a Joe Rogan-type gets called out for saying something racist, homophobic, or transphobic, they manage to convince a broad cross section of niggas to support them in defending the “right to free speech” (although the first amendment only provides you with the freedom to say what you want, not protect you from criticism or repercussions for the things you say). The thing is, white folks and Black folks are not equally at risk of being subjected to cancel culture and most white folks don’t give a fuck about it when the larger white community is driving the cancel bus.

See, true “cancel culture” is the shit that destroys careers. Cancel culture is Janet Jackson being blamed for her titty being out at the Super Bowl (while Justin avoided all responsibility) and her, a musical legend, having her career derailed at it’s apex.

“Cancel culture” is Colin Kaepernick losing his football career because white folks didn’t like that he advocates for victims of state-sponsored violence. “Cancel culture” is Caster Semenya losing her Olympic career because white folks think she looks “too manly”. “Cancel culture” is Tommie Smith and John Carlos being ostracized after the Olympics because they threw up Black Power fists. When actual “cancel culture” comes for Black folks, we literally have nothing or no one except our community to help us through.

What the Joe Rogans of the world have done is equate “cancel culture” to punching down at marginalized groups and being offended when they dare to speak up. In that way, the only nigga they’ll allow into their ranks – Dave Chappelle – fits the bill of someone worth defending against being “cancelled”. They say offensive shit about the LGBTQIA+ community or any racialized minority, face some backlash, complain that the world is trying to cancel them, and then use that as a come up for an even bigger bag.

Now some of you might be saying that I’m comparing apples and oranges, because while a lot of white men have said crazy shit, Will Smith’s offence happened in person to someone who was actually victimized. Well, enter Louis C.K.

On Sunday April 3rd, a week after Will stepped on that stage with Chris Rock, Louis C.K. won a Grammy Award for best comedy album. This is the same dude, who between 2015 and 2017, accumulated a myriad of claims of sexually harassing multiple women. This is the same dude whom many white men (along with their Stephens) rushed to his defence after the allegations broke to decry him being “targeted” and “cancelled”. And yet, after taking a little self-imposed break, he’s back to reap the rewards of his professional success with little backlash, while the world focuses on throwing Will further under the bus.

If there’s one thing you take away from this article, I hope it’s not that I’m advocating for a world where white and Black men go equally unpunished. As much as I’m an advocate for first amendment rights and people being able to say whatever shit they want, I’m also grown enough to understand the concept of consequences. With that being said, I really need Black folks to stop letting their favourite white comic drive this conversation about “cancel culture”. While it ain’t shit but a punchline and marketing tactic for them, it’s actually a real harm that our community suffers at the hands of.

This Is Your Conscience