Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Don’t miss this special offer - 12 issues for just £12!
SUBSCRIBE
Culture

Comedian Chloe Petts: 'Wake up! Cancel culture doesn't exist'

The stand-up star says nobody should worry about being cancelled – it’s not a real thing, and if it is, it only makes it more likely you’ll get talked about.

Chloe Petts

Chloe Petts Photo: Matt Crockett

I’m actively bored of the discussion around cancel culture. I’m actively bored of the thing that I’m meant to be writing about. 

I’m bored of cancel culture because we’ve been banging on about it since about 2017 – and since then, I’ve been convinced that it doesn’t exist AT ALL. It’s a mythic creature, like a unicorn or a competent member of parliament.

Let me start by defining my terms as I realise that cancel culture isn’t something everyone’s aware of – in fact, a recent YouGov poll found that two-thirds of Britons hadn’t even really heard of it. In a spirit of rigorous journalistic vigour, I put this to the test and conducted my own extensive research (asked my dad what he thought it was). Tony Petts is somewhere in his 50s and doesn’t use social media. He thinks cancel culture is when you book a table at a restaurant but then get Covid and don’t cancel your booking so the restaurant loses out on money. It’s not the right answer, but it’s pure of heart.

No, dad, cancel culture is when mass support is withdrawn from a celebrity or public figure because they’ve said or done something ranging between problematic and criminal. It’s basically an extension of the “you can’t say anything these days” argument that the older generation might find more of a recognisable concept.

News flash: you can say anything these days. You just might be held accountable for your words and actions… or you may not. If you’re rich, you’ll probably get away with it anyway. 

Let me give you an example. Ricky Gervais recently released a Netflix special in which he made some pretty lazy and derogatory jokes about trans people, a group who suffer disproportionate societal persecution and oppression just for being them. His supporters are upset that he attracted widespread criticism, suggesting Gervais is the latest victim of cancel culture. Gervais knew exactly what he was doing – saying the offensive, edgelord thing de rigueur, knowing that the left and the right would go to battle over it, earning him massive amounts of publicity and driving traffic to the Netflix special. He is very much the opposite of cancelled; his voice has been amplified to the masses. 

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

I propose that we stop all of this and focus on making really good comedy that doesn’t lazily and cheaply take pot shots at those in society who are oppressed. I’m not suggesting we never say anything offensive (honestly, for me, the filthier the better) but let’s direct it at the people who hold the power. Let’s make a pact now that this will be the last mention of cancel culture in popular media. No one say it ever again. Cancel cul- shut up!!

Chloe Petts’ show, Transience, is at the Pleasance Courtyard, Upstairs as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from August 3-28 (excl 15) at 6pm. More info and tickets available at chloepetts.org

This article is taken from The Big Issue magazine. If you cannot reach your local vendor, you can still click HERE to subscribe to The Big Issue today or give a gift subscription to a friend or family member.You can also purchase one-off issues from The Big Issue Shop or The Big Issue app, available now from the App Store or Google Play.

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

Never miss an issue

Take advantage of our special subscription offer. Subscribe from just £9.99 and never miss an issue.

Recommended for you

View all
Beyoncé's stunning Cowboy Carter tour reclaims country and proves history can't be erased
Music

Beyoncé's stunning Cowboy Carter tour reclaims country and proves history can't be erased

The weaponisation of fear and misinformation is nothing new. We must act against it
STOREHOUSE ; Production ; Cast: Bonnie Adair, Chris Agha, Dawn Butler, Elizabeth Hollingshead, Scott Karim, Rob Leetham, Harriett O’Grady, Zachary Pang, Nina Smith, Nat Kennedy, Grace Hussey-Burd, and Darrel Bailey. Founder and Concept Creator: Liana Patarkatsishvili ; Creative Director: Sophie Larsmon ; Lead Producer: Rosalyn Newbery ; Production Designer: Alice Helps ; Sound Designer: James Bulley ; Lighting Designer: Ben Donoghue ; Story Producer: Donnacadh O’Briain ; Co-Writer: Tristan Bernays ; Co-Writer: Sonali Bhattacharyya ; Co-Writer: Kathryn Bond ; Co-Writer: Katie Lyons ; Co-Writer: Caro Murphy ; Co-Writer: Rhik Samadder ; Dramaturg: Sophie Drake ; Costume Designer: Julie Belinda Landau ; Original Compositions: Anna Meredith, Sinemis Buyuka & James Bulley ; Deptford Storehouse ; Sage and Jester ; London, uK ; 1 June 2025 ; Credit and copyright: Helen Murray ; www.helenmurrayphotos.com
Misinformation

The weaponisation of fear and misinformation is nothing new. We must act against it

Pulp's Jarvis Cocker: 'We only have a finite amount of time to do the things we do'
Exclusive

Pulp's Jarvis Cocker: 'We only have a finite amount of time to do the things we do'

Dangerous Animals review – you're gonna need a bigger bait
Film

Dangerous Animals review – you're gonna need a bigger bait

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know
4.

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know

Support our vendors with a subscription

For each subscription to the magazine, we’ll provide a vendor with a reusable water bottle, making it easier for them to access cold water on hot days.