We wanted to thank every person who gave our article about the cancel culture surrounding Candice Patton and Danielle Panabaker a look. It means so much to us that there are people out there that want to stop this horrible lifestyle that people are fully committed to. However, we want to address the comments we’ve gotten on Twitter. We thought we would follow up.
While the post has gotten likes and retweets, it was the comments that disturbed us. While what people weren’t saying overly terrible things, there was basically the same toxic attitude that Candice and Danielle put up with on a daily basis from ‘fans’. We even went so far as to block people.
Normally, we don’t like having do that, but we will in order to keep the conversation positive. We were also accused of not checking our facts. Excuse us, but you don’t know the first thing about journalism. We don’t publish something unless we know our sources are legitimate. With that said, this post has zero to do with calling out Candice and Danielle fangirls. We’re not going to go as low as them as that is not what this blog is about.
Stopping Cancel Culture Is Important
We’ve said this before, we’ll say it again. Cancel Culture is TOXIC. Spell it out. T-O-X-I-C. What does that spell? Toxic. It’s a bad thing. The goal of the post we did yesterday was to expose how unfair it is that diehard fans would trash the actress they didn’t like due to information from gossip sites which they foolishly believe to be true.
Again, we need to stress that there are sources that will do anything for clicks. We’re not going to call them out, but they’re definitely out there. There is so much that we can do to slow the spread of this type of culture. It shocks us that every few days, a hashtag trends of Twitter that states someone should be cancelled.
People are entitled to their views, but they need to be called out when they become extreme. Especially diehard fans who accuse one person being a diva while the other is deemed a racist. Social media and recorded interviews don’t paint a perfect picture into someone’s relationship with another person. It doesn’t take a genius detective to see holes in one’s assumptions.
Because fans follow an actor’s every move online, doesn’t mean they actually know the person and what they’re like. Same applies to Danielle and Candice. Yes, they’re both very different women, but they have one common goal: to work and make a difference.
What also irked us was one of the comments claimed that we were trying to cancel Candice and Danielle. No. We weren’t and that was NEVER the intent. Toxic fans were twisting our words to make US look like the cancellers. Also, we’re not going to explain ourselves to a troll.
It Shouldn’t Matter What The Person Looks Like And You Don’t Know The Actors Personally
A lot of Flash fans who follow the comics were up in arms when Candice was cast as Iris, given the character is traditionally white with red hair. However, no one complained when Mehcad Brooks was cast on Supergirl as James ‘Jimmy’ Olsen.
Even now, unhappy fans have been sending Candice abusive and racist messages though it has been 7 years since The Flash debuted. Social media should be used as a tool for good. Not a tool for destroying people’s lives. It is terrible that actors are abused by fans of a fandom for simply doing their job.
Candice has spoken out about how difficult it has been to be a black actress and we applaud that. We’ve never denied that. It’s been great to have her play a version of Iris that pre-2014 didn’t seem to be a possibility for superhero stories on television. She has changed the landscape for more diversity in casting on television and in film.
Also, fans love to think that they know the stars of any production personally when they don’t. Just because you follow their careers and everything they post on social media, does not mean you’re their friend. THEY don’t owe you anything.
Follow What Is Right
While it’s great that fans want to stand up for their favourite stars when they become targets of hate, but accusing their co-stars of things that probably never happened is just plain wrong. As we’ve stated before, social media posts, recorded interviews, and made up speculation doesn’t even cover who celebrities truly are.
Unless you know the actor personally, you don’t know a single thing about their daily lives outside of what they show online. Sure, things can be taken out of context like what happened with the Sasha Exeter and Jessica Mulroney debacle. You don’t see Candice and Danielle tearing each other down. They handle their own lives and if they are feuding, one or both of them will be fired from The Flash if it turns nasty on set.
Needless to say, Candice and Danielle are both professionals who wouldn’t risk their careers because of a difference of opinion. No one person – regardless of their skin colour, race, sexual orientation, or their beliefs – have to agree on everything. They don’t even have to be friends.
No One Right Way
There is no one right way to follow an actor or fandom, but it should be done with respect for everyone including the other actors who you might not like. You don’t have to agree with us or anyone else, but remember you’re representing a fandom and people are going to look up to you.
