The Independent's journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn commission.
Sarah Silverman argues that ‘path to redemption’ is needed in ‘cancel culture’ moments
Silverman has herself faced criticism over a 2007 sketch in which she wore blackface
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
Sarah Silverman has argued in favour of a “path to redemption” for people facing instances of “cancel culture”.
The comedian herself has faced backlash for wearing blackface in a 2007 sketch. She said last year that she lost out on a movie role due to a resurfaced photo of the sequence.
Silverman, who has since landed a comedy special and a pilot order, touched on the topic of “cancel culture” in a recent episode of her podcast.
She referred to Christian Picciolini, a former skinhead who left a white supremacist movement in 1996 and has since worked as an activist against hate groups. Silverman interviewed Picciolini in an episode of her series I Love You, America in 2017.
On her podcast, Silverman described the way some people get radicalised as “going towards love”, stating that Picciolini found “family, camaraderie, and a place to be” when he joined a hate group.
She extended her reasoning to “cancel culture” at large, adding: “In this cancel culture – and we all know what I’m talking about, whether you think there is one or there isn’t one or where you stand on it, and there’s a lot of gray matter there.
“But without a path to redemption, when you take someone and you found a tweet they wrote seven years ago or a thing that they said and you expose it and you say ‘This person should be no more, banish them forever’ – they’re going to find some place where they are accepted, and it’s not going to be with progressives,” she said.
“If we don’t give these people a path to redemption, then they’re going to go where they are accepted, which is the motherf****** dark side.”
Several people responded to Silverman highlighting the need for “contrition” and “repentance” in the context of redemption.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
“ We don't have to offer a god damned MINUTE of redemption to people who aren't interested in repentance, and who are still actively doing harm,” one person wrote. “They can change first. We can forgive later.”