Trending Now: finding ‘redemption’ for people who have been canceled – Fans React

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Every time you think reality shows have sunk as low as they can go, Hollywood triumphantly lowers the bar. This time, it’s with a show reportedly in development for E! that puts “canceled” celebrities in a house together while they try to redeem themselves.

Credit Tony Maglio of The Hollywood Reporter for reporting on this honestly, saying, “There’s no way this blows up in anyone’s face. None whatsoever.”

The problem is twofold: who the show would feature and what it would actually accomplish.

No names have been publicly floated for “Becoming Uncanceled,” but Versant’s Val Boreland told The Ankler, “You can think about the kind of people we’re talking about — not criminals — who might need to redeem themselves in front of America.”

You can think about them, sure, but not without betraying a political persuasion, since the definition of cancel culture most often involves an online mob going after someone who expressed an unpopular — and often political— position.

Think, for example, J.K. Rowling, who has been the subject of repeated, attempted cancellation events for speaking out about gender issues.

But cancellation has come for ordinary people (not celebrities) who did things, too — such as Amy Cooper, the woman who called the police on the Central Park birdwatcher who asked her to leash her dog, and the Minnesota dentist who shot Cecil the lion in 2015. In fact, a writer for The Telegraph recently identified Walter Palmer as basically Patient Zero of cancel culture.

Is there a huge market of people who want to see people like Amy Cooper and Walter Palmer vying for Americans’ forgiveness while living in the same house with, say, Chris Pratt and Gina Carano, and some people who turned up a time or two in the Epstein files? Let’s hope not.

Reporting on this for the website Brit + Co, Bre Avery said she was enthusiastic about the show’s premise, adding, “I personally do not want to live in a world where redemption isn’t an option, because where does that leave the people who are disgraced by society?”

That’s a tricky word, disgraced, as a couple of publications found out when writing about the death of “Dilbert” creator Scott Adams while using that word last month. The creation of a show like this is also tricky because, as Avery put it, “In some cases, celebs have entered the point-of-no-return zone when it comes to their crimes and cancellations, where redemption seems pretty much impossible.”

“Crimes and cancellations” — one of these things is not like the other. And true redemption, people of faith believe, is a holy thing not to be sought or delivered on TV.

Amy Cooper, the Central Park dog walker, tried to get the public to see her side in a Newsweek essay a few years ago. In that piece she said she was still in hiding and that she’s not sure she “will ever be OK.”

“There is no such thing as a ‘Karen.’ We are all just people. Each of us deserving grace and forgiveness,” she wrote. “In the end, silencing the truth, the full story, hurts all of us.”

There’s a place for that sort of thoughtful reflection when someone has been canceled, rightly or wrongly. But to package it as entertainment in the genre called reality TV? Whatever that is, it’s not redemptive. Hard pass.

The land of hope and politics

There’s been more than a little hype about Bruce Springsteen’s upcoming tour, which looks to be something of a massive, indoor “No Kings” protest with music.

That’s not hyperbole; the promotional material for the tour has “No Kings,” an anti-Trump mantra, parading across the bottom of the graphic, and Springsteen recently released a song about the recent tragic events in Minneapolis, which he described as the result of “state terror.”

Springsteen is one of those stars who is reliably political, so it’s to be expected that his “Land of Hope & Dreams” tour will feature lots of talk about “American democracy, American freedom, our American Constitution and our sacred American dream — all of which are under attack by our wannabe king and his rogue government in Washington D.C.” — words attributed to Springsteen on his website.

What’s surprising is that Springsteen seems to think that Trump supporters will show up for this. On his website, he says, “Everyone, regardless of where you stand or what you believe in, is welcome,” which would be great if he would put on a show without divisive rhetoric, which seems unlikely to happen.

Last year, at a show in the U.K., Springsteen made global headlines for calling the Trump administration “corrupt, incompetent and treasonous.” (Trump responded on social media, calling Springsteen “dumb as a rock” and a jerk.)

Moreover, he’s opening the show in Minneapolis and closing in Washington, D.C., which is about as politically charged as you could make the schedule.

Let’s just say it’s a tough time to be a Trump-supporting Springsteen fan — particularly if your budget doesn’t allow for the $2,957 “platinum” ticket that has some people enraged.

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To some, Bruce Springsteen is quintessential “American music.” Stephen Jones offers a different take.

“In the early 20th century, an important group of American composers was intently focused on creating a “national music” — a sound that would uniquely represent the temperament and individuality of America while rivaling the masterpieces of their European counterparts.”

The ever-changing definition of ‘American’ music

Religious “nones” make up more than a quarter of Americans, and their number is growing. But it’s a mistake to think that these people aren’t open to faith, say William C. Duncan, Samuel J. Abrams and Dee Allsop.

“Research from Sutherland Institute suggests that secularization has produced far more ambivalence than antagonism. Many Americans who claim no religious identity are skeptical of religion in the abstract, yet are noticeably more open to its role in public life when they encounter concrete evidence of what religious institutions actually do. The distance between abstraction and experience turns out to matter a great deal.”

Why many religious ‘nones’ are more open than they appear

Dennis Romboy examined the results of a new national Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll and found Utah in line with the rest of America in one area with regard to gambling.

“Overall, 28% of Americans say they’ve placed a bet on a sporting event using a sportsbook, online platform or mobile app, while 70% say they have not. Men were twice as likely to bet on sports than women.”

Here’s who’s driving the sports betting boom in America

End notes

The Huff Post came under fire this week for publishing an essay about the “cognitive dissonance” required to root for Team USA in the Winter Olympics if you are at odds with the Trump administration.

The writer said some people feel “guilt and shame” about cheering for their fellow Americans “while hating the U.S. government.”

As one person wrote in response, it was an “insanely unpopular post.”

But among the thousands of people who responded angrily, one comment really stood out: a three-word obscenity from a seafood restaurant in Maryland that instantly won love and appreciation from those who do like waving the flag and chanting “USA.”

This has led to a certain cognitive dissonance among those of us who appreciate Jimmy’s Famous Seafood taking a stand for patriotism, but wish that the restaurant could have done it less profanely. There was plenty of backlash, like from the person who wrote on Reddit, “We’ve fallen far when a comment that is literally (a profanity) is labeled a ‘patriotic defense.’”

Nonetheless, the restaurant’s X account gained many new and high-profile followers, including Utah Sen. Mike Lee, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr and Fox News host Kayleigh McEnany.

Let’s just hope this doesn’t become the hot new trend for people trying to attract followers.