In an era where individuals can build careers based on their online presence, there is a growing risk of being subjected to a 'cancel culture' for expressing views that deviate from prevailing public opinion. While some individuals with substantial followings can recover from such incidents, others find themselves completely excluded from public discussions.
Various actions, ranging from accusations of sexual assault to the resurfacing of instances where public figures joked about a sensitive topic, have led to unforgiving responses from even their most ardent supporters. However, it is worth exploring the current whereabouts of these individuals who have faced cancellation and how they have managed to sustain their livelihoods after experiencing such setbacks.
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Jenna Marbles
Jenna Mourey, also known as Jenna Marbles, gained immense popularity on YouTube with her video titled 'How to trick people into thinking you're Good-looking' in 2010. The humorous video featured her applying multiple layers of foundation and playfully making fun of herself, attracting millions of fans and subsequently building a substantial subscriber base on her YouTube channel. She quickly emerged as one of the earliest stars on the platform.
However, Jenna's rise to stardom was abruptly overshadowed in 2020. Resurfaced videos revealed instances of her engaging in 'blackface' and mocking Asian individuals for the sake of cheap jokes. One of the offensive videos, dating back to 2011, showcased her impersonating rapper Nicki Minaj by wearing a pink wig and darkening her skin. The backlash following the re-emergence of these videos was swift and severe, prompting Jenna to address her past content in a final video on the platform. She expressed remorse, offered apologies, and announced the conclusion of her YouTube channel.
Following her departure from social media platforms, Jenna's fans occasionally receive updates about her life through the online presence of her husband, Julien Solomita. Julien, a prominent influencer with 1.3 million followers on Instagram and a significant presence on Twitch, revealed in December 2022 that he and Jenna had gotten married. Sharing black and white photos from their wedding day, he affectionately captioned them as "Married otters." The snapshots captured a heartwarming moment as they posed alongside Jenna's cherished chihuahua, Marbles, who was present in a carrier beside them during the ceremony.
Caroline Calloway
Caroline Calloway, a student at Cambridge University, gained a massive Instagram following through her visually appealing photos and nostalgic captions, which complemented her blog that she started writing in 2012. In 2015, her substantial Instagram presence played a role in securing a six-figure book deal with the working title of 'And We Were Like'. However, two years later, Calloway announced on social media that the book was no longer happening, criticizing its premise as 'sexist'. Instead, she sold the initial seven chapters on Etsy, revealing that she was $100,000 in debt to her publisher from the advance she had received.
Calloway's journey took a further downturn in 2019 when she organized expensive 'creative workshops' priced at $165 per session, which turned out to be highly disappointing as they failed to deliver on promised items like orchid crowns. The following year, she issued refunds to dissatisfied customers as per the Guardian, but her downfall escalated in October 2019 when a former friend, Natalie Beach, published an opinion piece on The Cut claiming responsibility for Calloway's success and revealing alleged falsehoods behind her rise to Instagram fame.
Facing controversy, Calloway defended herself in television interviews and through her Instagram account but eventually retreated from social media, deleting her Instagram posts. However, before wiping her account clean, she disclosed in a lengthy post that she had managed to repay most of her debt to the publisher by utilizing an OnlyFans account. After several years of absence from Instagram, she recently revived her account, sharing the cover of her new book, 'Scammer', with the caption: "Babe wake up, the new manic pixie dream book is dropping mid-May".
Belle Gibson
Belle Gibson, a wellness guru, gained a devoted following on social media by promoting a clean eating and healthy lifestyle that she claimed had cured her cancer. She built her success in the early 2010s on a completely fabricated story of being given a few months to live due to brain cancer, only to make the tumor disappear through a healthy diet. She launched an app and a cookbook called 'The Whole Pantry', which further solidified her image. However, her deception began to unravel in 2015 when it was revealed that she had lied about donating proceeds from her book and app sales to a charity.
As journalists delved deeper into her background, it was discovered that Gibson had never actually had cancer and had fabricated the entire story for personal gain and fame. In 2017, she was fined $410,000 for breaching consumer law, but reports in 2019 indicated that she had not paid any of the fines and was evading authorities in her Melbourne home.
Following the scandal, Gibson retreated from the public eye for a few years but resurfaced briefly in 2020 under a new name, Sobantu. She claimed to have been embraced by the Ethiopian Oromo community, adopting a headscarf and expressing her devotion to Allah. However, a controversial video discussing Ethiopian politics and her involvement in fundraising raised suspicions among skeptics, given her history of fraud. The following year, it was reported by the Daily Mail Australia that Gibson had been 'banished' by the Oromo community, further marking her descent into obscurity.
James Charles
Renowned make-up artist and YouTube sensation James Charles achieved immense popularity with 25.5 million subscribers on YouTube and an additional 36 million followers on TikTok. He was considered a trailblazer in the beauty industry as a male make-up artist and became CoverGirl's first male ambassador. Charles mingled with Hollywood elites and graced exclusive events like the Met Gala. However, controversies frequently plagued him, leading to multiple instances of being canceled, but he managed to bounce back until his career eventually plummeted without recovery.
In 2017, amidst a devastating Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Charles made a tweet jokingly expressing fear of contracting the virus before a trip to South Africa, a country thousands of miles away. Although he faced backlash for trivializing the epidemic and incorrectly referring to Africa as a single nation, Charles managed to regain favor with his fans following a sincere apology. Over the years, more scandals emerged, including accusations of transphobia when he made comments about his sexual orientation. Despite these controversies, Charles maintained a loyal fanbase.
However, in 2021, allegations surfaced that Charles had engaged in inappropriate sexual conversations and exchanged explicit messages with underage boys. In response, Charles released a video admitting to soliciting nude images and engaging in sexting with the boys, claiming he was unaware of their age. Despite apologizing and expressing accountability for his actions, the allegations resulted in a swift loss of support from fans and brands. YouTube demonetized his channel, and his subscriber count significantly declined. Currently, Charles remains active on social media, but his stardom has waned, and he is rarely seen in the company of the A-list celebrities he once considered friends.
Jeffree Star
Jeffree Star gained initial fame on MySpace as a musician and later transitioned to YouTube, where he shared makeup tutorials. He was involved in a public fallout with fellow makeup YouTubers, including Manny MUA, Gabriel Zamora, Laura Lee, and Nikita Dragun, in a controversy known as 'Dramageddon.' Star faced allegations of manipulation from Tati Westbrook and accusations of racist comments made by both Shane Dawson and Star himself. However, in 2020, Insider published an investigation revealing claims of sexual assault, physical violence, and hush money offered to Star's accusers, leading to a significant downfall.
Star responded to the cancellation by posting a video showcasing a lavish shopping spree, despite the allegations against him. The Shane X Jeffree Conspiracy Collection, a makeup collaboration with Shane Dawson, was removed from Morphe's website following the controversies. In August 2021, Star relocated from Los Angeles to Wyoming, where he currently resides on a yak farm. Nevertheless, he remained embroiled in controversial drama, including making negative comments about gender-neutral pronouns, for which he faced backlash on social media. Additionally, he sparked speculation about a romantic involvement with an undisclosed NFL star through his social media posts.
Milo Yiannopoulos
Milo Yiannopoulos had a controversial career in journalism, gaining attention when he joined the far-right publication Breitbart News in 2014. However, his career was marked by controversy from the start, including allegations of unfair pay at The Kernel and his association with the misogynistic 'Gamergate' movement. In 2016, Yiannopoulos's Twitter account was permanently suspended due to his involvement in racist insults directed toward the cast of the Ghostbusters reboot. He faced further backlash for his association with Nazism and made controversial comments about relationships involving underage boys.
Despite initially maintaining a devoted alt-right following, his supporters turned against him after the resurfacing of these comments, leading to his resignation from Breitbart. While his influence has waned and his following has diminished, he remains associated with right-wing figures and has worked as an unpaid intern for controversial Republican politician Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Shane Dawson
Shane Dawson is a prominent American YouTuber, actor, filmmaker, writer, and musician. He gained early fame on YouTube and still maintains 19.3 million subscribers on the platform. Dawson began creating videos in 2008 and quickly amassed hundreds of millions of views through a variety of content, including parodies, reaction clips, and conspiracy theory videos.
For four years, Dawson hosted a podcast called 'Shane and Friends' but later faced criticism when old podcast episodes resurfaced containing questionable comments about sexualizing minors and pedophilia. In one episode from 2015, he shared a story about inappropriate behavior involving his cat, which he later claimed was a fabricated story meant for shock value.
Dawson faced backlash for his past actions, including making pedophilia jokes and wearing blackface in videos. These controversies tarnished his brand and led to calls for his cancellation. In 2020, he issued a formal apology in a 20-minute video addressing his racist and inappropriate videos, acknowledging his past mistakes and expressing remorse.
As a result of these controversies, Dawson's reputation suffered, and he experienced a decline in popularity and influence within the online community.
