Comedian Marlon Wayans is speaking out against “cancel culture.”
In an interview with Buzzfeed, Wayans spoke about his 2004 movie “White Chicks” and whether a similar kind of movie would “thrive” today.
“I think they’re needed. I don’t know what planet we’re on, where you think people don’t need laughter, and that people need to be censored and canceled. If a joke is gonna get me canceled, thank you for doing me that favor,” he said.
Wayans also said that it’s sad that “society is in this place where we can’t laugh anymore.”
“I ain’t listening to this d— generation. I ain’t listening to these folks: These scared-a– people, these scared executives. Y’all do what you want to do? Great. I’m still gonna tell my jokes the way I tell them,” he added.
Continuing, he said, “And if you want to make some money, jump on board. And if not, then I’ll find a way to do it myself. I know my audience. My audience comes to my shows every weekend and they leave feeling great and laughing. One thing about the Wayans, we’ve always told the worst joke the best way.”
The New York Post describes “cancel culture” as “the phenomenon of promoting the “canceling” of people, brands and even shows and movies due to what some consider to be offensive or problematic remarks or ideologies.”
In a letter from Harpers Magazine in 2020, titled “A Letter on Justice and Open Debate” they claimed that “the free exchange of information and ideas, the lifeblood of a liberal society, is daily becoming more constricted.”
“We are already paying the price in greater risk aversion among writers, artists, and journalists who fear for their livelihoods if they depart from the consensus, or even lack sufficient zeal in agreement,” the publication wrote.