London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Oct 24, 2025

Did Childish Gambino call out cancel culture? The battle over the meaning of his tweets perfectly captures US’ cultural divide

Did Childish Gambino call out cancel culture? The battle over the meaning of his tweets perfectly captures US’ cultural divide

Donald Glover took to Twitter to seemingly blame cancel culture for the low quality of modern entertainment. Or did he? The debate about what he meant, with users seeing what they want to see in his words, sums up the culture war.

To say that Donald Glover, aka Childish Gambino, has creative chops would be an understatement. He’s not only a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, but has acted in and written several incredibly successful shows and films, and raised laughs as a stand-up comedian – a true Renaissance man of the arts.

He’s also a very private individual, so when he went on Twitter and discussed the idea of the fear of cancelation being responsible for a lack of creativity in the arts, it came out of leftfield.




Glover’s remarks could be taken two different ways. The term “canceled” could, of course, be referring to cancel culture. He could be talking about the fear that every creative individual faces whenever it comes to creating something new. Speaking as a comic book writer, I would be lying if I told you there wasn’t a persistent hint of doubt in the back of my mind that a hate mob could come after me on social media for not expressing what I’m “supposed to” because of my skin color, religion, or any other number of arbitrary qualifiers.

The other possibility is that he was talking about a television program literally being canceled by a network. He’s currently the creator, writer, and executive producer of the show Atlanta, and plenty of TV creatives have gone on record saying it’s a constant worry for anyone who works in that area of the arts. Nobody wants to be the person who gets the phone call confirming their show will no longer exist next season, and they need to wrap it up.

I’m of the opinion that Glover was thinking more of the former than the latter, however. And it seems I’m not alone in that thought. Cassie da Costa recently penned an op-ed for Vanity Fair in which she discussed the idea of Glover referencing cancel culture.

That said, Da Costa disagreed with the suggestion that cancel culture is causing a lack of creative edge, and bolstered her argument by pointing out that Woody Allen, Mel Gibson, and Roman Polanski have all gone on to receive professional praise after potentially career-ending scandals. I can’t agree with that take, though, on the grounds that it’s odd to compare what the aforementioned individuals went through to losing a job purely because of the wrath of a social media mob. I think individual cases need to be examined on their own merits.

Ultimately, if Glover is indeed talking about cancel culture, then I agree with him 100%. The fact of the matter is that a culture that demands silence whenever the ‘wrong’ opinion is uttered will always stifle creativity. A creative mind relies on the ability to think freely. That mind must be able to explore different ideas and possibilities that go beyond skin color, sexual orientation, and any other mundanity, and those ideas might not always be palatable.

If we look at the world of TV for a moment, I wonder if a show like The Shield could even be made in this day and age. And would a comic book such as Watchmen be written? There are so many people out there who are fearful about what they can and cannot do that they simply stick to the safe options. Some of those safe areas, like superhero stories, can still be entertaining, but I have to confess that I find myself going back to older entertainment on a regular basis simply because, outside of that realm, there isn’t much. As Glover says, “They can only experiment with aesthetic.”

Beyond that, the row over his tweets is a perfect illustration of the gladiatorial, Twitter-acceptance-driven state of the current cultural world. Maybe even Glover himself is guilty of what he’s writing about – he’s “afraid of being canceled”, so he’s offering an ambiguous take that can be understood either way, dependent on the reaction.

I think Donald Glover will probably be enjoying the different interpretations of his statements. There’s a commonality between the two understandings: both acknowledge that fear ultimately curbs creativity. Then again, there could be a third option: he’s simply speaking his mind without an agenda. And if that’s the case, he might just be the only person on social media who’s doing so.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
×