It was a journey. They had put everything they had into this. They had
spent countless hours shooting, editing, re-shooting. It had taken them
more than seven years to get where they were. They had built a social
media empire. Jack, Tony, Elijah, Samuel and Henry, commonly known as
the ‘Wingmen” were arguably the biggest YouTube group ever. They
were an inspiration to every child as five kids from a rough part of London
who made it. They were at the pinnacle; they were at the highest peaks
but it was all coming crashing down. All because of one word- ‘Cancelled’.
A jobless imbecile scrolling 10 years up Henry’s twitter, a ‘woke’ activist
reading the lyrics of Samuel’s latest chart-topping hit and a fan online
who couldn’t take a joke. These were the people responsible for their
fate. People who had achieved nothing in their lives were the ones
destroying the biggest rags to riches story in all of England. One click of a
finger, one post on social media and it was done. The social media mob
was all over them. The cancel culture train arrived at their stations. They
were called racists, sexists, ableists, homophobic, transphobic and a
million other words which only those hiding behind their screens writing
them know the meaning of. They were in a world where people saw a
portrait, not even bothering to learn the whole story, see the landscape,
look at the grey areas.
Yes, Henry said something wrong but that was then and this was now. He
apologized, didn’t he? People change, times change, circumstances
change. Yes, Samuel used a word that is used as a slur in his song. But did
anyone bother to look closer? Did anyone see if that was the meaning he
implied? And yes, Elijah made an offensive joke about a fan. Did anyone
care to see anything but what was shown to them? Did anyone check
whether or not it was satire? No, because nobody has the time.
This cruel society we have created is bringing down the very ones serving
us, bringing light into our lives. Given all the light they brought into our
lives, who are we to darken theirs? ‘Cancelled’. This word has not only
isolated people but destroyed them in each and every aspect. It takes
lives apart. The very social media that created the ‘Wingmen”, got them
to their heights, was now pulling them down far beyond the deepest pits
of hell. How ironic.