In today’s online climate of public shaming, it seems that at any moment a figure you found fascinating, intriguing, or even inspiring might be the next cancellation in the court of public opinion. Some are indefensible, of course (Epstein, Weinstein, R. Kelly). But others are more ambiguous, and we’ve all likely found ourselves feeling defensive of an unpopular figure. 

Here are five people that our writers feel the need to defend. Think you’ll change your mind?

Friday’s Failure

Everybody knows Rebecca Black for her 2011 song “Friday,” a track mostly remembered from a place of hate. There’s not a week that goes by where the song doesn’t echo through the halls of a school somewhere, and maybe that’s part of the reason we hate it.

Pure mockery propelled “Friday” to No. 58 on the Billboard Hot 100. But the popularity only served to sink her career. Black followed up with another song in 2013, aptly named “Saturday,” but her career was already done. 

Hate the song, but don’t hate the girl. Black was only 13 when “Friday” was released, so you can’t expect her to be on the same level of compositional genius as Mozart or Beethoven. 

And what about the label she signed with? There is no way that ARK Music Factory didn’t realize that the song was essentially a dumpster fire. And where were her parents in all this? Don’t blame a child for the sins of their elders.

-Adam Blanchard

Child Influencer to OnlyFans Model ‘Pipe’line

Piper Rockelle came under fire for creating a profile on OnlyFans, where she sells sexual content of herself and promotes this content on her other social media platforms. While many old men were thrilled to hear she was “finally” legal (she turned 18 in August), most of her followers are minors. She has since been pseudo-canceled, coming under a barrage of negative comments online (“disgusting,” “whore,” “bop,” etc.)  for posting sexually charged content on platforms where children can see it.

I think people are directing their anger toward the wrong person. It has been documented for many years that Rockelle was sexually exploited by her mother and her mother’s boyfriend, Tiffany Smith and Hunter Hill. The three-part Netflix documentary “Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing” tells how Rockelle was groomed and sent on her current path by a toxic family atmosphere.

Many people argue that because she is 18 she bears adult responsibility. However, Rockelle recently shared that she is still trying to gain control of her finances from her mother, so she’s certainly being not treated like an adult. Even now in her content for OnlyFans, Hill and Smith have been seen in reflections of windows.

People should try to learn more about Rockelle’s story before passing judgement onto her. Her story of exploitation and sexual harassment is something that needs to be talked about on an even grander scale than it is currently.

-Yasmine Alregabi

Justice for Tonya

On Jan. 6, 1994 — in the second worst thing that’s ever happened on January 6 — American figure skater Nancy Kerrigan had her kneecap bashed in, an attack orchestrated by rival skater Tonya Harding’s boyfriend. 

Following this attack, Harding was banned from figure skating for life, effectively cancelling her. 

I understand that what happened was not right. But I think banning Harding from professional figure skating is ridiculous. I get that she obstructed an investigation, but she was under a lot of duress from her boyfriend. Moreover, she served three years probation, 500 hours of community service, and she paid a $100,000 fine. 

The poor girl was abused and treated unfairly for her entire life. One shattered kneecap later, figure skating was stripped from her forever. If this were today, she’d probably just post a notes app apology and start her redemption tour. 

Kerrigan earned a silver medal in the 1994 Winter Olympics. The attack wasn’t even technically successful. 

–Emma Deo

The Brady Bunch

It’s not a surprise that a lot of people can’t stand Tom Brady, given the cheating scandals that seemed to pop up every few seasons (Deflategate, etc.), his support of Robert Craft (massage parlors, etc.), and the way that he kisses his son’s lips. Since his days with the New England Patriots, Brady has been portrayed as a football super villain. 

But if we can get past a few character flaws, which, let’s admit, we all have, I think Brady’s a solid guy overall. I genuinely can’t think of another human being who has brought more joy to New England than Brady did every Sunday he stepped on that field in Foxborough. Beyond the six Super Bowls and multiple MVPs Brady brought to my favorite football team, he has also shown me the virtues of hard work, dedication, and what it looks like to be an absent father and husband (which I never aspire to be). 

Brady isn’t a perfect human being — far from it — but neither are the rest of us who sit behind a screen and scrutinize people over the internet. What Brady did manage to do was inspire people to realize that, with true hard work and dedication, we can achieve anything we set our minds to. Going from one of the worst draft combines of all time and being chosen in the sixth-round of the NFL draft, to becoming the NFL’s undisputable GOAT (greatest of all time for you uncultured fans out there) is a feat that is admirable to say the least. 

–Justin Rushia

Chalamet Supreme

People have been claiming the Hollywood A-list is dead and there are no more true “movie stars” who generate box office success. Then along comes Timothée Chalamet, who generates massive box office success, and people want to hate him for it.

Chalamet’s recent Marty Supreme press tour has ruffled some feathers for supposedly being too…try hard? He shouted out from the top of the Las Vegas Sphere, he held a 20-minute “fake” zoom call. Overblown, sure. But if we start falling into a world where we start branding someone as too “try hard” for promoting films that they are proud of, then I’m afraid we’ve lost the plot. I personally love when I see actors, actresses, and other artists who are passionate about their work. 

Hating on Chalamet is becoming a national pastime. Just a year ago, the guy faced criticism for a speech he made after receiving the best actor award at the SAG – AFTRA ceremony. When Chalamet claimed he “wanted to be one of the greats,” critics called him brash, arrogant and cocky. But it’s this verboseness that makes Timothée who he is — a young New Yorker always looking to perform. 

Maybe I’m biased cause we’d both die for the New York Knicks, but I feel the hate from Chalamet is unwarranted.  

-Evan Rando