Goldie Hawn is one of the dozens of Hollywood stars who believe that cancel culture has gone too far.
The 77-year-old Oscar winner recently sat down with Variety to detail her childhood and her more than five decades in film. While chatting, Hawn explained that she lived an “idyllic childhood,” then grew up and watched the metamorphosis of Tinsel Town, and she can’t help but think both society and the industry have changed for the worse.
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The Cactus Flower star believes many of the problems stem from cancel culture. She does believe the phenomenon began with good intentions, but people went to extremes. And now, intolerance is running rampant.
“I think that it’s important to stand vigilant on people’s behavior and really understand when they’re out of line and be able to handle it,” she explained. “But I’m concerned about these areas: Suddenly you don’t have a job. Suddenly you can’t date a woman within the business or you’re going to get fired. They’re canceling books – classic books that no one can read. I don’t like that. There’s mistrust everywhere.”
Goldie Hawn stressed that cancel culture turned into “culture wars.” And she’s particularly concerned about how those wars found a place in the school system.
“Schools are being politicized,” she stressed. “But for the greater good of our children? No one’s really looking at that.”
Goldie Hawn Asks, ‘Who Has the Right to Cancel?’
Hawn believes that comedy has been the most affected area of the entertainment industry. In the past, writers and performers had a bit of artistic freedom with jokes. They could be politically incorrect for the sake of the message. But now, people have to walk on eggshells because they’re terrified to cross a line that could ruin their careers.
“The level of sensitivity is so high that comedians are afraid to tell certain jokes the way they used to,” she continued. “It’s a bit of a quandary for comedians; there are things you can’t say and so on and so forth. I mean, it’s fine.”
“There are certain areas that I agree with,” Hawn noted. “But the level of sensitivity is unforgiving. That’s not a good feeling when you’re in a creative mode.”
The actress went on to express that society is disrupted by the cancel culture’s subsequent polarization. And while she does recognize that disruptions can often be “good,” this has turned into an imbalance, which isn’t good.
Hawn hopes that somehow the imbalances will work themselves out and people can get “back to some level of sensibility and fairness.”
“So ‘cancel culture.’ The word itself scares me more than anything. It’s rigid, concretized thinking, which is not good. It’s got double edges on it,” she added. “And who has the right to cancel?”
