The ongoing trial of Amber Heard and Johnny Depp brings new light to the toxicity of the internet, and it also shows that no one can be right. There are people on either side of a matter trying to “cancel” the other for what they did, and this phenomenon is known as cancel culture. Depp has gone on record addressing cancel culture saying, “It can be seen as an event in history that lasted for however long it lasted, this cancel culture, this instant rush to judgment based on what essentially amounts to polluted air.” Mr. Depp is suing Ms. Heard on the terms of defamation to his image. In other words, Heard released an op-ed claiming Depp abused her, and as a result, people, primarily on the internet, started canceling him without any real evidence.  People have berated and “canceled” each of them for instances that no one truly knows about without evidence.

The past has been known to creep up on many. Living in the public eye can be difficult for well-known people, like celebrities or politicians, with the whole world knowing every detail of their lives through social media. With the ever-growing internet, it’s simple to do a quick Google search to find the smallest fault in someone. Being canceled seems like a normal thing in this day in age, as anyone at any point could be canceled by the media for past decisions or even a current belief. Countless number of individuals think the trend of cancel culture brings out the toxicity of social media by tearing others down. While mental health has been praised for years, it is questioned as to why unknown faces demolish it by twisting words and exposing truths. 

A recent spill on cancel culture has caught wind on Capitol Hill, with the Republican primary in North Carolina leading to the scandal of a young politician, and the internet is in a whirlwind of opinions. Madison Cawthorn recently lost the GOP primary for his state, and new evidence of allegations against him come out more and more each day. Both Republicans and Democrats alike have come out with words against Cawthorn, and it seems like everyone is against him. Now facing judgment day in North Carolina and on the trending page on Twitter, Madison has come out with a video speaking of these claims against him, yet people have seen the evidence of the true tales and spoke out on his claim. From sexual assault allegations, to taking a firearm through security at an airport, to calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “a thug,” being called the “hot mess” of the Republican party may not look good for Cawthorn, especially when the name originated from his own party. 

Cancel culture has made the last couple of years difficult. Needing a clean past and being mindful of what you say is key to avoiding the theatrics of being canceled on the internet. Whether it’s Twitter, TikTok or Instagram there is no escaping it. However,  the trolls behind the screen saying all the nasty comments are mostly only doing it for the drama… unless the individual did something worth actually being canceled. While there is a mental health crisis on our hands, cancel culture is only making things worse because there is no erasing your words off the internet.