Cancelling oneself is newest act: playwright
• People are falling victim to “self-cancellation” as they would rather stay silent than face backlash for their opinions, Sir Tom Stoppard has said.
The playwright has said cancel culture and the subsequent erosion of free speech has left people at the risk of being “screwed” for life over casual comments made.
Freedom of speech has been weakened in the past half century, Stoppard has claimed, and anyone voicing opinions runs the risk of being “screwed.”
The Leopoldstadt writer said: “Fifty years ago it seemed to me that the freedom to say what you like within the constraints of the law of the land, was the freedom on which all other freedom depended.
“So it was essential that people were allowed their moment on the soapbox, on the platform. It appears to have been eroded to some degree. It’s not so much cancellation as self-cancellation. People tread warily, they’re careful of what they say.
“I just say one casual thing and I’m screwed for the rest of my life.”
Stoppard has denied he has faced “cancellation” during his career, even as he fell out of favour for not being political enough in
PEOPLE TREAD WARILY, THEY’RE CAREFUL OF WHAT THEY SAY.
his outlook, and argued that cancel culture and its terminology were new phenomena. Speaking on BBC TV’S Newsnight, the playwright has hinted that his own views could now be unpalatable for some, saying: “In a certain perception I’m way behind the curve as to what is sayable and what is thinkable.
“I believe in truth and falsehood; I don’t understand how a society can operate without that any more than science can.”
Stoppard has argued that the internet has been a catalyst for changes in public discourse, allowing people to express opinions while preserving their anonymity. The writer, who fled Czechoslovakia with his family in the face of Nazi invasion, has said this had contributed to a rise in anti-semitism.
Stoppard said: “It may be that it’s always been there in a suppressed way, and is now relieved of its suppression.
“It’s as though the internet, as it were, has enabled and brought into being a whole new layer of public and private discourse. Because of their essential anonymity, should they wish to preserve it, they can say anything and everything without fear of penalty.”
He added: “Anti-semitism as a force in society has some kind of relationship to what is happening to Palestine in any given year. I don’t take it personally. I think it’s a character defect.”