Dr Seuss to Chrissy Teigen: 8 stars who were cancelled in 2021

The concept of 'cancel culture' itself is on the verge of being cancelled, but that hasn't stopped the Internet from holding certain celebrity figures accountable in 2021.

Sexual allegations, offensive tweets and alleged racism have landed some of the world's biggest stars in hot water this year.

Cancel culture refers to the sociocultural phenomenon of promoting a widespread verbal attack on people, brands, shows or movies that some perceive as offensive or problematic.

Here are just a few stars who were on the receiving end of the Internet's wrath in 2021.

Chris Noth

Chris Noth, the 67-year-old actor, primarily known for his portrayal of Mr Big in the popular romantic TV series Sex and the City, has faced severe backlash on social media, leading to his cancellation.

Noth has denied all allegations. However, talent agency A3 Artists Agency soon dropped him as a client, and Peloton took down one of their advertisements featuring him. He was also dropped from CBS' drama The Equalizer this month.

Dr Seuss

Although the classic children's author Dr Seuss died in 1991, six of his books were pulled in March 2021 for their alleged racist depictions of people from certain nationalities.

'If I Ran The Zoo', 'And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street', 'McElligot’s Pool', 'On Beyond Zebra!', 'Scrambled Eggs Super!' and 'The Cat’s Quizzer' were the six books that were removed from publication for portraying people in ways that were "hurtful and wrong", the publishing company told The New York Post.

“We believed that it was time to take action. We listened and took feedback from our audiences including teachers, academics and specialists in the field, too, as part of the review process."

This also led to the omission of his name in US President Joe Biden's annual presidential proclamation on the occasion of 'Read Across America Day'.

However, according to a recent report from Business Insider, librarians from the New York Public Library and other US institutions have decided to keep the [already existing] discontinued books on the shelves.

Marilyn Manson

Marilyn Manson, who had been facing serious allegations of abuse and sexual violence, fell into deeper trouble, when Evan Rachel Wood, another of his exes who had testified in court for the same, publicly accused him for the first time.

"The name of my abuser is Brian Warner, also known to the world as Marilyn Manson," the Westworld actress claimed in an Instagram post.

The Internet community was quick to support Wood and Manson was soon dropped by his record label Loma Vista Recordings, talent agent and manager.

Dave Chappelle

Dave Chappelle's comedic career has been riddled with controversy. After his Netflix special The Closer came out, people deemed some of his jokes transphobic and were enraged at his hypocrisy.

“I am not bending to anyone’s demands...And if you want to meet with me, I am more than willing to, but I have some conditions…First of all, you cannot come if you have not watched my special from beginning to end. You must come to a place of my choosing at a time of my choosing, and thirdly, you must admit that Hannah Gadsby is not funny," he said.

Early reviews of the show were critical, with many rights and advocacy groups condemning Chappelle's comments. Several Netflix employees also protested. Most notably, Dear White People showrunner Jaclyn Moore announced that she would no longer work with the company.

Andrew Cuomo & Chris Cuomo