Steve Harvey slams cancel culture
Jan 12, 2022
Washington [US], January 12 : Television host Steve Harvey does not believe in 'cancel culture'.
While promoting his new courtroom comedy series at the Television Critics Association press tour, Harvey slammed cancel culture.
According to him, it would be impossible for him to do a comedy special in today's climate as "cancel culture" could cost him his courtroom show and his career, reported Variety.
"The only way I can do one more special is if it's at the end of my television career because it will end my television career," Harvey said.
"We're in the cancel culture now. No stand-up that is sponsor-driven can say anything he wants to. Chris Rock can't. Kevin Hart can't. Cedric the Entertainer can't. D.L. Hughley can't. I can go down the list. The only person that can say what they want to say on stage is Dave Chappelle because he's not sponsor-driven. He's subscription-driven," he added.
For the unversed, a few months ago, Chappelle came under the spotlight after his remarks about the transgender community raised protests within Netflix and activists. Despite the backlash, Netflix stood by the comedian and did not pull the special from its streaming platform.
Expressing his views on the cancel culture, Harvey stated that "political correctness has killed comedy."
"Political correctness has killed comedy. Every joke you tell now, it hurts somebody's feelings. But what people don't understand about comedians is that a joke has to be about something. It has to be about somebody. We can't write jokes about puppies all the time," he said.
"The joke can't be about bushes all the time. Some of these jokes will have to be about people, because that's the most interesting topic. So if I come back, I'll have to wait until I'm done. And I'm not done. I want to do one more. I'll probably have to call it 'This Is It," he emphasised.