Imagine if social media had existed throughout all of history—how strange would that be?! Now, think about how today’s cancel culture would work with some of the most iconic names from the past. These days, accountability is rather important because of our changing values – many historical figures would likely be canceled. Here are ten historical figures who wouldn’t last today.
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Pablo Picasso
Picasso was a guy who could make a few squiggles look like a masterpiece. However, he certainly had his issues outside the canvas as he had numerous affairs & relationships that were problematic, to put it mildly. Today, his behavior towards women wouldn’t go unnoticed. Social media would make sure his transgressions would be rather well-known!
Henry Ford
Henry Ford put the world on wheels with his Model T yet he also had some rather nasty views that wouldn’t fly today. Ford spread a lot of anti-Semitic propaganda through his newspaper and that wouldn’t fly in today’s climate. It’s likely that Ford’s contributions to the automotive industry would be overshadowed by his divisive beliefs. People would question whether we should honor a man who encouraged hate speech.
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Sigmund Freud
Most of us know Sigmund Freud for making everyone uncomfortable with his comments about their mothers. His ideas about women and sexuality were pretty out there even for his time—they definitely wouldn’t sit well today. Just imagine the field day TikTok would have with his theory of p***s envy! There would be plenty of think pieces picking apart his outdated views.
John Wayne
Even though he was the mid-20th century symbol of American masculinity, John Wayne said some rather racist & homophobic things that he’d be canceled for today. It’d probably create a massive online backlash and people would want us to remove his name from airports & film awards. His iconic status in Hollywood wouldn’t be enough.
J. Edgar Hoover
Edgar Hoover was the top boss at the FBI and he supported using wiretaps & keeping tabs on political activists. Nowadays, our concerns about privacy would be enough to cancel him—let alone our fears of the government peeking into our lives. Hoover’s love for eavesdropping would definitely not win him any popularity contests.
Leopold II of Belgium
Leopold II was the king who thought it was acceptable to treat the Congo Free State as his personal piggy bank—at the expense of millions of lives. He utterly destroyed the Congo. Today, more people are aware of the horrors of colonialism and they’re questioning Leopold’s legacy. Rather than being a hero, he’d be seen as a villain if he did the same thing today.
Alexander Graham Bell
While Alexander Graham Bell may have given us the telephone, his opinions about deafness weren’t so progressive. He supported oralism and believed that sign language shouldn’t be taught. But that’s not the worst of it. He also supported eugenics by suggesting that deaf folks shouldn’t marry each other. These days, such comments wouldn’t be acceptable.
Coco Chanel
Even though most of us know Coco Chanel for changing the fashion world, her relationship with Nazi Germany during World War II leaves a lot to be desired. In fact, she once willingly worked as a Nazi agent—not her best look. Her wartime choices would get her trending on Twitter for all the wrong reasons today & people would be calling for us to boycott her brand.
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway could write a novel with fewer words than most of us use in a text message. Sadly, he wasn’t the poster boy for healthy relationships. He was married four times & became known for treating women badly, which would become fodder for endless social media gossip today. He’s a literary genius whose personal demons would overshadow his work these days.
H.P. Lovecraft
H.P. Lovecraft practically invented cosmic horror yet his views were scarier than his stories. His writings included lots of racist comments and beliefs that were downright supremacist. We simply wouldn’t accept him today. There are even movements now that criticize Lovecraft’s writing and argue we can’t appreciate his literary contributions because of his vile views.
Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
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