by Paige Werden ‘21

As social media continues to flourish in today’s society, rumors spread fast about celebrities and online influencers creating the phenomenon known as ‘cancel culture.’ Dominating all other social media platforms, Tik Tok and Twitter bring this occurrence to the next level. 

With Covid-19 fueling many debates on freedom of speech and the severity of the coronavirus, many teens and adults criticize celebrities for how they address the pandemic. For Tik Tok star Noah Beck, he faced many criticisms for his trips to the Bahamas while Covid-19 was prevalent in many areas throughout the world. “It is what it is …  I think, especially the business we’re in, it’s, like, you need some time to kind of disconnect for a little. That’s what that was meant for,” he said in response to the backlash during an interview with Pop Galore. 

Most Tik Tok users felt inclined to hold an opinion on this response and found it unsatisfactory and irresponsible. Some of the comments on his videos regarding the response include people saying that it was “not okay” and very “immature.” Many also speculated that he was deleting hate comments that were bashing him for the trip in hopes to avoid getting ‘canceled’ by his fans.  Contrasting the hate in the comments, some of Beck’s supporters backed him up by saying “Nobody is perfect,” and to “Ignore the hate.” It seems that even though a large group of his fans were upset and discouraged to learn about this event, he is still doing exceptionally well on Tik Tok with over 20 million followers.

In another scandal spread across Tik Tok, music artist Harry Styles was criticized for wearing a bandana as a mask while walking around California with his friends. “The bandanna that Styles recently wore—or, on occasion, didn’t wear—while out and about with friends in Santa Barbara has proven so divisive, it’s joined his rumored relationship with Olivia Wilde at the top of the Hazza news cycle,” as reported on magazine.com.

Twitter and Tik Tok fans responded to Harry’s actions saying that he was being “irresponsible” and “selfish” for not socially distancing or wearing a proper mask out in public while Covid-19 cases were extremely high in the area. Many argue that he was being hypocritical, formerly preaching to practice social distancing and telling his fans to stay at home on Instagram and Twitter. Not only this, but fans wondered if Styles’ rumored relationship with Wilde played a role in his decisions to hang out with friends and not take necessary precautions during the pandemic. Though Harry received a large amount of backlash, his loving fans are too plentiful to allow him to be canceled or held accountable for his actions, similar to the response received from Noah Beck’s fans as well.