2.2.21 Bee-otch of the Day: the hypocrisy surrounding cancel culture

Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday; Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Sunday morning on Chuck69.com's socials.

Name: cancel culture
Age: ageless
Occupation: cutting out the good things in life
Last Seen: everywhere
Bee-otched for: screwing over Marilyn Manson before he can speak
--

He was one of the biggest rock stars of the 1990s.

When Marilyn Manson's 1996 album "Antichrist Superstar" was released, it was groundbreaking in terms of the fact that a lanky kid from Ohio named Brian Warner could shock the world with his music and image. His industrial metal cover of Eurythmics' synth-pop classic "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" from "Smells Like Children" was a radio hit and songs like "The Beautiful People" and "The Dope Show" made him an active rock radio mainstay.

Twenty-five years ago, Manson was your parents' worst nightmare. As time marched on and as pop and hip-hop overtook rock in popularity, Manson's album sales did take a hit. "Antichrist Superstar" sold over seven million copies. His latest LP, the critically-acclaimed "We Are Chaos" has sold only over 30,000 copies so far.

Over the years, Manson's career has faced challenges, notably his critics blaming him for the 1999 Columbine massacre. However, Dylan Klebold and Kyle Harris weren't big fans of Manson's music, but rather were allegedly into techno. Because of this, Manson recorded "The Nobodies" from his 2001 album "Holy Wood". 

But now, Manson has a new challenge: saving his career.

Yesterday, the 52-year-old rocker was dropped from his label, Loma Vista,after allegations surfaced regarding abuse from several women, including actress Evan Rachel Wood. In 2018, Wood testified in front of Congress in support of the Sexual Assault Survivors' Bill of Rights Act, claiming that a "significant other" had been physically, mentally and sexually abusing her, leading to her having PTSD. However, she had to remain moot on those charges because the statute of limitations had passed, fearing that her accuser would sue her.

According to Wood, she started dating Manson when "she was 18 and he was 38". However, when she was 18 in 2005, Manson was 36. Whatever.

Wood publicly announced that she was abused by Manson on her Instagram account on Monday. The post read, "The name of my abuser is Brian Warner, also known to the world as Marilyn Manson. He started grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years. I was brainwashed and manipulated into submission. I am done living in fear of retaliation, slander, or blackmail. I am here to expose this dangerous man and call out the many industries that have enabled him, before he ruins any more lives. I stand with the many victims who will no longer be silent."

Last night, Manson responded to Wood's accusations, posting "Obviously, my life and my art have long been magnets for controversy, but these recent claims about me are horrible distortions of reality. My intimate relationships have always been entirely consensual with like-minded partners. Regardless of how — and why — others are now choosing to misrepresent the past, that is the truth."

Just today alone, two TV shows that he was going to appear in canceled his appearances. His talent agency, CAA also dropped him.

Despite the cancel culture represented by Loma Vista, it appears that he's still getting airplay on radio stations everywhere. On Monday, legendary rocker WRIF Detroit played "Sweet Dreams" at around 5:30. SiriusXM still plays Manson's music on all their 1990s-onward rock channels. 

The funny thing is that Ms. Wood is talking about the alleged pain and suffering she received from Manson over the years. However, it wouldn't shock me if some who hate Manson also embrace Chris Brown. 

We all remembered what happened twelve years ago: Brown beat the shit out of his then-girlfriend, Rihanna. Not only that, he's been arrested multiple times and threatened several more girlfriends. Many had hoped that his career would have been dead and gone by now, but nope! As a matter of fact, his latest single, "Go Crazy" is currently a top ten smash and has gone platinum twice.

Meanwhile, the #1 song on rock radio is Five Finger Death Punch's "Living The Dream", whose video depicts a large group of people going into war with a woman who resembles House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. And yes, the video was shot long before the 1/6 insurrection.

Chances are that your local radio stations will have played everything from Ted Nugent (had an affair with a 16-year-old when he was in his 30s) to Elvis (raped Priscilla and was an alleged racist), Pantera (lead singer Phil Anselmo once screamed "white power" at a concert and often spoke about white privilege) to Creed (lead singer Scott Stapp threatened to kill Obama). Yesterday while I was taking my mom's car to get gas, her radio landed on Grand Rapids' recently-launched classic country outlet Jethro FM 94.9. They were playing "Great Balls of Fire" by Jerry Lee Lewis, who married his 13-year-old cousin in the 1950s. 

There's no doubt that cancel culture has been around forever. In the 1890s, there was a movie called "The Kiss", which showed a middle-aged couple kissing. Many religious groups even wanted the projectors that showed the film destroyed for showing a PDA. In the 60s, there was the hit song "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!"by Napoleon XIV, which was yanked off many radio stations because of complaints from mental health organizations. In 1968, Transamerica Insurance, which then-owned the pre-1948 Warner Bros. film library, yanked eleven Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies from television in response to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Even today, cancel culture is alive and well on TV in Utah; Salt Lake City's NBC affiliate, KSL-TV does not air the daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives until 1:05 a.m. because the show has a gay couple. KSL is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which preaches against homosexuality.

What's sad is that so often, when both sides preach about cancel culture, karma will put the smackdown on their candy ass. In the 1990s, the same religious assholes who wanted Marilyn Manson gone also wanted the same for Howard Stern, especially here in Grand Rapids. I find it funny that some of those same assholes also supported 91.3 WCSG, whose morning host is now in prison for decades for raping two 12-year-old boys in a hotel room. True, those assholes got their wish, only after the Janet Jackson Super Bowl nip slip, which persuaded Stern to move to Sirius. Let's also remember that many of Stern's haters also love pill-poppin', prostitute-fucking and cancer-stricken Rush Limbaugh. 

Sometimes, when I think of cancel culture, I think of two episodes of The Simpsons. One was when Sideshow Bob dressed as Krusty the Klown and robbed the Kwik-E-Mart. Because Krusty was now evil, Homer went into Bart's room, took all of his Krusty paraphernalia and tossed it into a massive, burning pile of other people's Krusty items. Of course, Krusty was framed, and he was a free man. The other was the one where Marge called for a boycott of Itchy and Scratchy because Maggie smacked Homer with a hammer. However, her group also called for the boycott of Michelangelo's David statue because of its exposed genitalia. Marge veered away from her fellow *ahem* members because she didn't find it offensive at all. 

You see, when you program a music-based radio station, you have to realize that there's fans on both sides of the aisle. You have liberals and conservatives, but you also have artists that people simply don't like because they're fuck-ups. In twenty years, I can only think of two artists that got banned from certain radio stations: The Dixie Chicks (Cumulus banned them because lead singer Natalie Maines told a crowd that they were ashamed for being from the same state as George W. Bush) and Madonna (who got banned from a Texas oldies station for telling a crowd that she wanted to "bomb the White House" because of Drumpf). There *might* be some liberal-minded radio station owners and programmers out there who would want to ban the likes of Ted Nugent and Creed, but it's not in their nature because of the First Amendment and a fear of reduced ratings from conservative listeners. 

Look, I've never met Marilyn Manson, nor have I ever visited his house. Hell, I've never went to any of his concerts. I simply enjoy his music. Do I think he raped and tortured his girlfriends? Right now, who knows? If he did, God damn him. If he didn't, I hope he can rebuild and move on with his career. Not only that, but shame on those women for trying to derail his career and trying to take him down like Kobe. 

So, IF Marilyn Manson is found guilty of rape, whether or not radio stations will still want to play his music is up to them. Remember that in England, many old episodes of Top of the Pops are forever shelved because they were hosted by serial rapist Jimmy Savile. On the other hand, here in America, Bill Cosby is rotting away in jail for rape, but there's a black-owned TV network, TVOne, that still airs The Cosby Show. 

I guess it's all up to us as individuals to decide what to watch or hear. We DO have the remote. 

  ----

Got a Bee-otch to nominate? E-mail us @ chuck69dotcom@gmail.com. All suggestions (except for me) are welcome!

Bee-otch of the Day Archives can be seen on http://beeotchoftheday.blogspot.com

Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!

CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!