Queen guitarist Brian May is responding to backlash after he suggested Queen wouldn’t have been diverse enough if the band launched today, instead of in 1970.
“I am sure if Queen started now we would be forced to have people of different colors and different sexes and a trans [person],” he said at the 2021 ITV Palooza in London, according to The Sun. “But life doesn’t have to be like that. We can be separate and different.”
His comment comes after a recent decision by the Brit Awards to abandon gendered categories and replace them with awards for artist of the year and international artist of the year. May described the decision as “ill-thought-out” and a “knee-jerk reaction” to “woke cancel culture.”
May’s comments reflect on a broader debate about what it means to be “canceled.” Even after an influential performer receives significant criticism from the public, for example, this doesn’t necessarily keep them from performing their craft. That includes comedians Dave Chappelle and Louis C.K., who both received Grammy nominations last week.
In 2017, C.K. admitted to accusations of sexual misconduct by several women, according to The New York Times. Afterward, the release of his film “I Love You, Daddy” was cancelled, and he was removed from the lead role in “The Secret Life of Pets 2.” But that didn’t stop C.K. from performing again in 2018, and embarking on a world tour the next year, according to CNBC.
Chappelle also has received backlash for a recent Netflix special where he joked about transgender people. Netflix employees staged a walk-out protest, but many viewers also praised Chappelle.
"If this is what being canceled is like, I love it," Chappelle said during a standing ovation at the Hollywood Bowl, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Chappelle is now capitalizing on the controversy in an effort to raise money for his former high school, the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C. He visited the school for a Q & A session with students last week, according to Politico.
The school plans to re-name a theater after Chappelle in April, amid pushback from the student body. In an Instagram post, Chappelle encouraged people to donate to the school, and to express either agreement or disagreement with the theater's new name. If his critics give more money than his supporters and neutral donors, then he says he’ll “gladly step aside.” The high school said in a statement Sunday that it still plans to re-name the school in Chappelle's honor, regardless of the fundraiser results, according to Newsweek.
On Sunday, May took to Instagram to clarify his comments about cancel culture.
“Yes — I was ambushed and completely stitched up by a journalist at the recent ITV event,” he wrote. “And it’s led to a whole mess of press stories making it look like I’m unfriendly to trans people. Nothing could be further from the truth. My words were subtly twisted.”
He added, “My heart is open as always to humans of all colours, all creeds, all sexes and sexualities, all shapes and sizes - and all creatures. We all deserve respect and an equal place in this world.”