Members of the left and right are often equally guilty of cancel culture – and leaving ‘no room for nuance’. 

That’s according to Spiked Political Editor Brendan O’Neill after an Olympic commentator was fired for a sexist comment. 

Last weekend, after the Freestyle Relay Women's Final, Eurosport commentator Bob Ballard said the Australian team was delayed starting because they were “doing their makeup”. 

Despite apologising, Mr Ballard was dropped from the Eurosport commentary team. 

Speaking on Moncrieff today, Mr O’Neill said he would never make a comment like Mr Ballard’s - but dropping him from the Olympics completely is “cruel”. 

“I think the internet has a lot to answer for in relation to cancel culture because a mob can form very quickly and demand someone's scalp,” he said. 

'Cancel culture mob'

Mr O'Neill said people get a “cheap nasty thrill” when joining a ‘cancel culture mob’. 

“They can go online and suddenly they feel like this very powerful person who is dragging someone down, who is cancelling someone from public life,” he said. 

“But I think if they really were to search their souls over what they're doing, they would realise that what they're doing is not very nice, it's not very forgiving.” 

He noted both left-wing and right-wing internet users are guilty of cancel culture. 

“If you're a gender critical feminist who criticises some of the transgender ideology, they can be cancelled very quickly by left-wingers,” he said. 

“But we’re [also] talking about an old lady who works in Home Depot in the United States, she's a cashier, and a right-wing mob went to her place of work, exposed her online. 

“She lost her job over something she'd said on Facebook, which got two likes. 

“The right is doing this as well as the left... there’s no room for nuance.” 

'Religion without forgiveness'

He described cancel culture as “a religion but without forgiveness”. 

“It has all the bad parts of religion,” he said. “The kind of unforgiving attitude, the stern judgment of people's behaviour, the kind of finger-pointing element. 

“But it doesn't have the ability of people to confess and to be forgiven.” 

He said cancel culture should be acknowledged as “mob censorship” as it starts a “chilling effect” on everyday people.