When Cancel Culture Rises from the Grave

Throughout the years, I have read books that have shocked me and rocked me to the core. From indie books such as Woom to mainstream works like IT by Stephen King. Some writers love to push the boundaries of what is considered acceptable. While some readers turn away in disgust, others find themselves drawn to this more sadistic side of storytelling.

Writers often pour their deepest and darkest thoughts into their work—just as songwriters, artists, and actors do. We open up that locked box of all our messed-up thoughts, emotions, and feelings, and throw them out into the world. Things we would never say in public, or scenes we would never act out in real life.

The best creators are often tortured in some way, and a little messed up. This is why the best music is made when artists are scraping the barrel and barely functioning through addiction, and why the best artists and writers are those who are crippled by heartbreak and substance misuse. Look at Edgar Allan Poe, Van Gogh, Nirvana, and more. Some of the greatest, most influential artists in their fields let their sick and tortured emotions run riot upon the canvas, allowing it to flow into the world, and at one point, we loved it. Writers and artists stood for something. People complained, yes, but the writer rarely apologised for it, and publishers backed them.

This is what storytelling is. It’s stepping into a world away from our own and lifting the veil on what is going on inside someone's mind in the shadows. And we love it. We love reading, hearing, and feeling those emotions of pain. We love wrestling with moral conundrums and philosophical arguments that the creator conveys to us.

And then, people got sensitive, and offence became currency.

Recently, I became aware of a writer named Sophie Lark, who found herself on the receiving end of backlash because she wrote something in one of her novels that someone found offensive. This ‘fan’ decided to post it online, without context, and the post blew up. People were calling for the writer’s blood, insisting she should be struck from her publisher and banished from the face of the earth—all because someone, somewhere, found something offensive in her work.

I shook my head when I heard this. I couldn’t believe we still live in a world so full of sensibilities, trigger warnings, and mollycoddling to people's feelings when creating something that isn’t even real.

Surely, that is the point of artwork—to challenge the norm, to poke at the fabric of what is considered decent, and to force emotions and ask questions that make the reader think.

Now, you may think that this writer wrote something truly awful, perhaps screaming some racist or disgusting rhetoric. No, far from it. She wrote the line:

“But shouldn’t there be a crew of people with questionable work visas picking these grapes for us?”

This is clearly a character making a satirical comment about someone else in the story. The poster and complainer went on to say they couldn’t believe other characters in the story didn’t challenge the character who said this. What in the world? Are we seriously getting upset that a fictional set of characters didn’t challenge another fictional character over something said in a fictional book? What the hell has the world come to?

The complainer also got upset because the author referenced Elon Musk in the book, and this, of course, is like saying “Beetlejuice” to the woke mob.

In response to this, rather than the publisher and author sitting tight and riding out the storm until the complainers found something else to be outraged about—or, even better, doubling down and stating that if they didn’t like it, they could find another author to read—they released a statement:

I want to start by saying how much I appreciate this community. Your passion, support, and willingness to engage in meaningful conversations have always meant the world to me. That’s why it's so important for me to address something I got wrong.

It has been brought to my attention that certain lines in Sparrow and Vine were hurtful. Reading your messages and hearing your perspectives over the last twenty-four hours has been humbling, and I want to acknowledge the pain my words have caused. I am truly sorry. My intention was to craft and demonstrate a flawed main character, but instead, I wrote dialogue that read as attacking to a community that I care about very much.

During the editing process, Bloom recommended removing these lines, and I made the wrong choice in keeping them. I now understand that impact matters more than intent, and I regret that my words caused harm. Please don’t blame Bloom for my mistakes.

I wrote this back in the summer of 2024, and a lot has changed in the world since then, particularly regarding the fate of immigrants worldwide and certain public figures. Some things I would write differently now, so that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

Words mean nothing without action, so I am pausing this book and this series for some re-writes to ensure that my work doesn’t contribute to harm.

I will also be listening more closely to our sensitivity readers and taking additional steps to educate myself on responsible storytelling. And to those who took the time to share their feedback, thank you. To those I have hurt, I am very sorry. I hope I can earn your trust back in the future.

This statement is pathetic and grovelling. An attempt to appease those who cannot accept that someone thinks differently to them or is capable of redemption. Sensitivity readers? Educating yourself? You are selling out by appealing to those that do not want to hear it.

So, you wrote a line about migrants. It’s fiction. So, you wrote about Elon Musk. Who cares? It’s your art, and you decide what goes in it.

By apologising, they have played into the hands of those who would love to see them burn. Further comments on this apology were that it wasn’t sincere enough, not thought out enough, not good enough, and so on. Anyone asking for further context to the quotes were doxed as being part of the problem.

What happened to reading? When did everyone get so damn offended over everything?

Apologising for something you said when you believed it to be the right thing in the first place not only validates those who wish to see you destroyed but also alienates those who want to cheer you on.

This is why it is so important to make your own mark in the sand, letting those who think the same way as you and enjoy your authentic self, find you. This is also the issue with writing to mass market, and trying to be vanilla and appeal to everyone. By standing for nothing, you will fall for anything. The writer in this case now has not only angered the mob, but has alienated her existing audience due to her giving in.

By pandering to feelings and playing to the sensibilities of those who may read or digest your work, you are ensuring that your audience will never be happy. They will happily kick the chair from under you when you are suffocating with the rope of outrage around your throat.

You cannot, and should not, try to please everyone. Stand for something, and stand strong. That way, when the hurricane of cancellation comes, you will have strong foundations around you to weather the storm.

Not only that, but cancellation can also actually help someone get bigger. Because suddenly, everyone is talking about them. I had people ask me who this writer was, and what the book was. The person that doxed them online, actually made them famous.

If it wasn’t for the grovelling apology, I may have considered reading the book myself.

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