Was Matt Damon Cancelled? Death to 2021 Cancellation Montage Explained
Matt Damon was included amidst a slew of celebrities labeled as having been cancelled in the satirical Netflix documentary Death to 2021, but the movie fails to explain any of their alleged indiscretions. The film is a follow-up to last year’s Death to 2020, both of which set out to document the events of the year in a humorous light. Although both the Death to 2021 and Death to 2020 universes are rather detailed accounts of the year’s events, their intent is to entertain rather than to inform, meaning explanations are often scant to save room for jokes.
Death to 2021 contains many off-handed jabs at the last year, poking fun at everything from the end of Daniel Craig’s James Bond series to political corruption and vaccine hesitancy. One of the film's more quickly glossed over bits was its “In Memoriam” stylized segment for all of the celebrities who have been cancelled in 2021. The film jokes that the list was featured at the 93rd Academy Awards, but little else is said in regard to the bit.
There are nine names included on the list of cancelled celebrities in Charlie Brooker’s Death to 2021, though not all of them belong to real people. Although many of the controversies mentioned were significant enough to be easily recalled, several of the names listed came as a surprise to viewers. With that in mind, here is a look at all of the names mentioned in Death to 2021 and the controversies that landed them on the list of cancelled celebrities.
Matt Damon came under fire in mid-2021 for his usage of anti-LGBT language. The actor said he’d retired what he refers to as “the f-slur for a homosexual” (via UK’s Sunday Times) from his personal vocabulary after receiving a “treatise” from his daughter following a joke he’d told using the slur. The heat Damon received quickly abated given that he seems to be learning from his mistakes, but fans were certainly disappointed to learn that the The Martian star, Matt Damon, needed to have such a simple concept explained to him so aggressively before recognizing the impact of his words.
Justin Timberlake found himself in the middle of several controversies in 2021, most of which stemmed from his public mistreatment of women in the early 2000s. After the release of several documentaries detailing the life of Britney Spears, Timberlake came under fire for the way he spoke publicly about Spears following their breakup in 2002. The musician also felt some residual heat regarding his infamous Super Bowl Half-Time performance with Janet Jackson in 2004. The musician wound up issuing an apology via social media addressing his past behavior and largely accepting responsibility for his actions, which seemed to be generally well-received.
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, who's notably missing from HBO’s Harry Potter reunion, has incited significant public outcry in recent years with a series of anti-trans and anti-LGBT comments. Rowling is a self-described TERF, an acronym that stands for “trans-exclusionary radical feminist.” The author has been penning articles and tweets promoting harmful anti-LGBT rhetoric (especially against trans women) for several years now, although perhaps most notably in June of 2020. Although Rowling has struggled to defend herself, much of the Harry Potter cast have publicly addressed the controversy, largely denouncing Rowling’s comments.
Model, entrepreneur, and social media influencer Chrissy Teigen has garnered a significant following with her outwardly kind and positive attitude, which made her controversy feel all the worse. Teigen was accused of severe cyber-bullying by fellow model Courtney Stodden, alleging that she had nearly taken her own life as a result of Teigen’s attacks. Teigen and her husband John Legend acknowledged her behavior in a public apology, referring to herself as a “troll” during that point in her life and calling her actions “inexcusable.”
Although the author has been dead for now over 30 years, Dr. Seuss found himself embroiled in controversy over racist content in several of his children’s books. Six of Seuss’ books were removed from shelves in 2021 for potentially harmful content, including insensitive imagery and offensive language. Although this was not the first time Seuss’ work has been criticized, Dr. Seuss Enterprises’ decision to halt production of these six books was heavily politicized by the media and became one of 2021’s hottest watercooler controversies.
We Are Who We Are actor Armie Hammer experienced perhaps the most monumental fall from grace of the year following several allegations of sexual misconduct. A series of screengrabs surfaced in early 2021 appeared to detail conversations with Hammer detailing graphic sexual fantasies, including non-consensual sex and even cannibalism. Several of the actor’s past girlfriends have also alleged emotional and physical abuse, prompting Hammer to be dropped from several high-profile projects as well as his agents.
Much like with Dr. Seuss’ controversy, Disney drew attention to themselves by removing the 1941 film Dumbo from its streaming service. Dumbo portrays harmful black stereotypes with several of its characters, including a bird named Jim Crow. The studio attempted to fix Dumbo with changes in a 2019 adaptation, but with somewhat minimal success. Disney is certainly no stranger to this type of controversy having experienced similar criticisms with its 1946 film Song of the South, but the entertainment monolith continues to surprise fans with its less-than-perfect past.
Gina Carano began her career as a mixed martial artist, fighting professionally beginning in 2006, but both her MMA and Hollywood careers have ended under less than ideal circumstances. In late 2020, Carano came under fire for a tweet comparing the persecution of Republicans to the treatment of Jewish people during the Holocaust. Carano has failed to issue an acceptable apology for her actions, prompting Disney to remove her from her role in its Star Wars series, The Mandalorian.
In what is likely the most absurd controversy of the year (certainly at least of those that appear in Death to 2020 and Death to 2021), Mr. Potato Head was labeled as “cancelled” following a change to the toy’s name. In February 2021, Hasbro announced that it would be dropping the “Mr.” from the character’s name, referring to it henceforth as simply Potato Head. The name change was viewed as an unnecessary attack on gender norms by conservative outlets, stoking outrage amidst the anti-cancel culture community.
Source: Screenrant
Post a Comment