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Canceled: Inside YouTube Cancel Culture
We’re living in a time where millions of people around the world aspire to be famous YouTubers, Twitch streamers, Tik Tok stars or Instagram influencers, but nobody is prepared for the possibility of being canceled. One of the main reasons cancel culture is such a problem is because nobody talks about it and does their best to move forward. It’s like trauma victims just trying to forget and move on even though their story can help others. In March of 2019, I was canceled. Aside from losing 20,000 subscribers and being financially ruined, my reputation was destroyed. After months of therapy and realizing that this is something we need to talk about, I decided to finally be completely honest about my experience. For months now, I’ve been protecting many big YouTubers who were involved with this by not sharing their secrets because I don’t want anyone to go through what I’ve been through, but all of that has changed. People like Jordan Peterson, Sam Harris, Andrew Doyle, JK Rowling and others have been canceled. Meanwhile, people like Ben Shapiro, Dave Rubin and Gad Saad talk about free speech, but do they truly know what cancel culture is? In this book, we discuss the nuances of cancel culture and what we can do to fix it. I’m finally breaking my silence and am going to share my story and try to get to the bottom of what it means to be canceled and why it happens.
249 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 25, 2019
3 people are currently reading
21 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 9, 2019
This book is nothing more than rantings from an ego-maniac who thinks he knows more about mental health than licensed practitioners. In my personal opinion, which has been formed through watching his YouTube videos, is that he is hypocritical, pompous, and condescending. He lacks self-awareness, and his morals/values are heavily dependent on whatever narrative he’s attempting to promote at the time.
As far as the subject of the book, if you want an objective, unbiased look at “cancel culture”, you won’t find that here. This writer did absolutely no research into the topic. He shares this info from a narrow-minded and ignorant perspective. Any author worth their salt will explore the topic in a multifaceted fashion. Not this guy - he shares only his story, from only his perspective, occasionally peppering in other’s experiences without interviewing or even contacting the person for a better understanding of their experience.
The sole purpose of this book is to attempt to change the narrative from “bad guy” to “victim”. Although he initially apologized for every misdeed he was accused of, he uses this book to backpedal and blame “cancel culture” or the “internet hate mob” for his ruined reputation as a YouTube content creator.
OMG, the grammar and syntax is atrocious.
Don’t waste your time on this book.
As far as the subject of the book, if you want an objective, unbiased look at “cancel culture”, you won’t find that here. This writer did absolutely no research into the topic. He shares this info from a narrow-minded and ignorant perspective. Any author worth their salt will explore the topic in a multifaceted fashion. Not this guy - he shares only his story, from only his perspective, occasionally peppering in other’s experiences without interviewing or even contacting the person for a better understanding of their experience.
The sole purpose of this book is to attempt to change the narrative from “bad guy” to “victim”. Although he initially apologized for every misdeed he was accused of, he uses this book to backpedal and blame “cancel culture” or the “internet hate mob” for his ruined reputation as a YouTube content creator.
OMG, the grammar and syntax is atrocious.
Don’t waste your time on this book.
July 28, 2019
This guy is a quack. He isn't respected on YouTube. He says he's a social commentary channel, but really he is a channel that acts like he knows more than a licensed therapist. He gives out dangerous information. He harasses other Youtubers who don't agree with him. He has even compared himself (on his Twitter account) to a 13 year old child getting beat up to him being canceled on YouTube 🤦♀️. This man is a joke. I read his other book "rewire your anger" and it didn't give me anymore information then what he says on his channel. Don't waste your time and money on this book. There are better books out there that talk about this subject.
Edit: I want to also add that if you are looking for a book that talks about cancel culture from different people, then sorry to tell you that you won't find that here. This is just his story on how he lost thousands of subscribers.
He honestly sounds too much like my ex boyfriend (who was a narcissist and a mental abuser). When I read this book it sounds like my ex boyfriend writing this.
The author is playing the victim and blames other's around him for his situation.
This is definitely not a self help book, this is a rant book where he talks about other Youtube channels and the things they said about him. This doesn't actually give you any useful information or tips to help you. Where with his other book (rewire your anger), he did give you some helpful tips.
I feel like I read someone's blog posts or journal entries.
A journal that he should have clearly kept to himself.
I have done this myself where I have written letters to people or texts and once I put it out there, I later regretted it.
Now I have gotten to the point where I try to read my texts or letters to my boyfriend to get his point of view, and if he deems it to be too harsh or nasty, then I will rewrite it and it does sound better the second time I write it.
Yeah cancel culture is weird in my opinion, no one is fully "canceled" though from what I have seen, some people linger around like cockroaches waiting for the right time to come out again.
Maybe I'm biased because I've personally watched this person's YouTube channel and I was around for the fall out. I never even watched drama channels (talking about him) until after I stopped subscribing to Chris Bouttes channel.
I'm not trying to be hateful, that is not my intention, I love reading books (especially one's where they give you helpful tips or suggestions to help with your anger, anxiety, social media and the positives and negatives of being on here) but I just can't give this book any credit as being useful to anyone but the author who wrote this.
It certainly helped him by getting it out of his system, but again, I don't see this helping anyone else.
Edit: I want to also add that if you are looking for a book that talks about cancel culture from different people, then sorry to tell you that you won't find that here. This is just his story on how he lost thousands of subscribers.
He honestly sounds too much like my ex boyfriend (who was a narcissist and a mental abuser). When I read this book it sounds like my ex boyfriend writing this.
The author is playing the victim and blames other's around him for his situation.
This is definitely not a self help book, this is a rant book where he talks about other Youtube channels and the things they said about him. This doesn't actually give you any useful information or tips to help you. Where with his other book (rewire your anger), he did give you some helpful tips.
I feel like I read someone's blog posts or journal entries.
A journal that he should have clearly kept to himself.
I have done this myself where I have written letters to people or texts and once I put it out there, I later regretted it.
Now I have gotten to the point where I try to read my texts or letters to my boyfriend to get his point of view, and if he deems it to be too harsh or nasty, then I will rewrite it and it does sound better the second time I write it.
Yeah cancel culture is weird in my opinion, no one is fully "canceled" though from what I have seen, some people linger around like cockroaches waiting for the right time to come out again.
Maybe I'm biased because I've personally watched this person's YouTube channel and I was around for the fall out. I never even watched drama channels (talking about him) until after I stopped subscribing to Chris Bouttes channel.
I'm not trying to be hateful, that is not my intention, I love reading books (especially one's where they give you helpful tips or suggestions to help with your anger, anxiety, social media and the positives and negatives of being on here) but I just can't give this book any credit as being useful to anyone but the author who wrote this.
It certainly helped him by getting it out of his system, but again, I don't see this helping anyone else.
August 4, 2019
A book in which a grow man in his thirties is upset he couldn't confront a teenage boy and "scare" him.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 6, 2019
I discovered this book when Primink made a video about it. Since his coverage sparked my interest, I decided to read it for myself to form my own opinion. Knowing it had the potential bonus of being a serious expose on the disgusting effects of cancel culture and why it needs to be ended, I was actually a little fascinated.
Unfortunately, I ended up frustrated and disgusted. Time and again, Chris recounts moments where he repeated a toxic cycle of bad behaviour. While doing this, he preemptively dismisses negative opinions people may form about his actions by saying manipulative things like "this is where the hate mob will believe..." to invalidate them.
That's a shame, because I liked the idea of a book which explores the damaging effects of this whole "canceling" thing on YouTube. Instead, I got what comes across as an angry series of blog posts. The bitterness drips from Chris' words in some places and he frequently contradicts himself. One example is where he says it's unfair to call YouTubers out for wanting views then turns around a few chapters later to criticize those who made videos about him as only being in it for the views.
There are also multiple chapters dwelling on former friends who cut him out of their lives when the drama got overwhelming. One of them even said that he disapproved some of Chris' actions and it had an impact on choosing to pull away, but Chris insists that the guy's disloyal and ungrateful and brainwashed by "cancel culture." (Note: this is learned via a DM pasted in the book, where the sender mentions he doesn't want it shared.) Several barbed remarks also go toward someone he'd never met because he discovered she blocked him on Twitter. Instead of considering she may have disliked something he posted, he insists she was brainwashed by the hate mob and questions her integrity. However, a few chapters later, he says people have a right to cut out toxic friendships and block people they deem detrimental to mental health. In fact, he openly admits to blocking people he doesn't know just because he saw them "being ignorant." So, why can't these people do the same?
Suffice to say this book desperately needed an editor to spot contradictions and help eliminate some of the clear bitterness in wording... and fix the missing words, poor grammar, and other typos.
Unedited, this book makes Chris seem vindictive and narcissistic. He rants about a "responsibility to the audience" to tell them when something they see is "not okay" as if they're too stupid to make opinions for themselves on what is acceptable. He presents this as being for "the greater good" and acts as if it justifies hurting others - including bullying a recovering addict for having a relationship. Yep, he goes on a downright chilling and infuriating tirade about how Taylor Nicole Dean having a relationship is "not okay" and people are "enabling her" if they defend her right to not be harassed.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. That happens at the end, after several cycles of Chris doing stupid things to stir drama and making a shocked Pikachu face every time it leads to more hatred and criticisms. What precedes is a roller coaster of poor choices, bad PR, and semi-stalkerish attempts to force conversations from people who ghosted or criticized him. Chris has written an entire book (~250 pages) bemoaning some internet drama he endured which was worsened - by his own admission - when he kept fanning the flames to instigate situations. Despite this, he claims that he can handle online hate. He also claims that he's managed his anger and that he has his ego in check, but that seems untrue with chapter after chapter of patting himself on the back work ethic he believes is better than that of most other YouTubers.
It's exhausting, toxic, and frustrating to sit through all of this. By the 25% mark, I wanted to stop reading but he'd already mentioned Primink and I wanted to be able to draw informed opinions. So I did, and the generally uneasy "I think he did some things which were insensitive and not okay, but overall probably meant well" opinion I held toward Chris turned more and more into outright dislike for his attitude and views. It's disappointing, because this book is clearly a knee-jerk decision and perhaps he's not as manipulative as he seems when he isn't writing from a place of high emotion. Hidden in the hot mess are genuinely good bits about the impact of "cancel culture" and some cute stories about what a sweet kid his son is, but the overwhelming self pity party just wrecks everything. The obsession with a 19-year-old, disclosure of people's personal business and names without consent, constant whining, mess of contradictions, and narcissistic attitude portrayed in this book are downright unacceptable and at times unethical.
This is not a book about the dangers and repercussions of the disgusting, toxic cancel culture online. This is not a book about how to handle being the victim of cancel culture. It isn't even an expose, because it comes from such a horribly biased place which feels so laden with vitriol. It is an exercise in watching someone stubbornly refuse to take his own advice or reflect on his admitted bad behaviours.
After several overstuffed chapters of self-aggrandizing exposition comes a disturbing diatribe on how much he detests this "kid" (his infantalizing term for Primink) who he borderline stalked.
If you're confused: "old Chris" is what he calls his personality before sobriety. Scarily enough, he claims this version is even more vindictive. I've transcribed a text he showed in screenshot form as an example of how horrifyingly deep his obsession with Primink gets:
It's disturbing, and Primink isn't even the only person he gets so worked up over. I felt unsafe on these people's behalves at times, due to the way Chris describes chasing them down, constantly messaging them, berating them for not wanting to engage with him, etc.
After Primink, he forms a frustrating duality wherein he names some people and keeps others 'anonymous' in the same way "that company with the big eared mouse" isn't naming Disney. Seeing how he doesn't like one of them because the guy's a recovered addict who takes Xanax for mental health and Chris thinks that's somehow wrong... Let's just say, I was so mad reading that part, I had to pause and rant to someone about how there's a huge difference between a doctor deciding benefits outweigh risks to fix a chemical imbalance in the brain and being addicted to something which will ultimately kill you. I kept going, though, and I can say with certainty that it gets worse with each passing chapter.
There's also this one piece of horrible advice:
If this is anything like the "mental health advice" he offers on his channel, is it really any wonder that people take issue with his content? Imagine being someone who has been abused or otherwise victimized and loves Chris' channel. Imagine someone who, like myself, has been blamed by their abusers for what's done to them... If a YouTuber I look up to said something like that, I'd feel betrayed by such victim-blaming nonsense and crushed that someone I liked thinks the same thing as my abusers.
For as much as he preaches that influencers have a duty to set good examples and not promote harmful behaviours, Chris seems incapable of glancing in a mirror to see the irresponsible nature of his own public actions. However, what some people did to him and his family truly is abhorrent. There are people who took things too far and started tossing around threats or getting too personal. For that, my heart does ache, because nobody deserves to be bullied. Nobody deserves to be threatened with death over stupid actions they took online. Nobody's family deserves to be harassed for what that person did. There is a story hiding beneath the bitterness, obscured by the lack of self-awareness and destroyed by the stirring of stale drama.
When it comes time to finally address others who have suffered at the hands of cancel culture, the book flirts a bit with almost being something poignant... only to drop the ball. We get a chapter about how someone is being "canceled for cutting ties with a former friend" while his own former friends never had to face repercussions. Don't worry; I'm confused, too. It's a very gross oversimplification of the Slazo situation..
After an entire book ranting about how people never bothered to fact check accusations against him, he slides right in and spreads some of the misinformation against Slazo while also saying he believes it'd take a real dick to question Chey, the person who spread false rape and abuse accusations, with language which implies the allegations were true. By time he gets around to the fact Slazo actually cleared his name, it's basically a blink-and-miss-it aside which doesn't even focus properly on how Slazo was victimized by cancel culture. Chris would rather paint the narrative of how messed up it is that they attacked ImAllexx for turning against Slazo. I'm still not sure why, since he misses the point of why people are upset about that.
He does similar disservice to people like Shane Dawson, against whom he lobs allegations the internet had mostly already forgotten which could be detrimental if they made rounds again. It also becomes glaringly obvious that he's ignoring Pewdiepie, as he even mentions how everyone in that section has a racism based accusation against them and he mentioned in a previous portion of the book - using barely one sentence - that Pewdiepie had been a victim of cancel culture as well. So... why not mention Pewds? He certainly isn't failing as a creator despite attempts to "cancel" not only him but anyone who likes him, so he'd fit perfectly. Or he would, if that section weren't about how supposedly some people are "immune to cancel culture." It's a rant about how they did this, that, and the other which is so much worse in his eyes than what he did himself and it just isn't fair to him that they didn't get "canceled" like he did. But also he doesn't want them to be "canceled." But also, look at all the much-worse things they did. Rinse and repeat.
He speaks about these things as if they didn't have much impact at all on the creators involved. We barely get one sentence about how Shane's mental health has suffered. Nothing is said about how people who associated with Jeffree or didn't take a stand against him were once attacked en masse; I know that much myself and I only watch one beauty channel. Why not address how even the most subscribed individual creator on YouTube has fallen into the grasp of hate mobs? Why not mention how even those who fall victim to "hate mobs" and maintain success are negatively impacted? Like the number of licks in a Tootsie Pop, the world may never know.
More importantly, though: it's very clear how the creators in question have managed to weather the storm. They handled their controversies better than Chris did and had more income so the loss of subscribers didn't make them at risk of homelessness. They're not immune; people have tried many times to "cancel" the people he mentions. They just keep their heads up for the most part and keep on trucking instead of wallowing in the filth of extra drama and acting like their careers are over. He doesn't seem to recognize that.
Worse, this book actually perpetuates cancel culture. Chris never stops to point out how disgusting and dehumanizing it is to "cancel" another human being as if they're a tv show and not a thinking, feeling, sentient entity. Instead, he adopts the terminology to the point I never want to see or type the word "cancel" again once I'm done with this review. In fact, the very ending of the book basically just accepts the toxic culture and says to be mindful of how you would want someone to treat you if you were "canceled." Talk about missing the point and not delivering on what the book promised!
I think the saddest part is that Chris genuinely does appear to care about others' mental health. I don't doubt he's helped some people despite hurting others. It's possible to both do good and harm. It's just frustrating and haunting to read the proof that he's unwilling to recognize or understand why some of the things he's done are hurtful or unsafe to people with mental health issues. It's troublesome he didn't realize that this book as presented is a terrible idea and many of the things he says in it are not ethical, fair, or okay. He preaches that people should learn from mistakes, but in making this book he's proven that he's learned nothing from his own. I also wouldn't be overly surprised if he ends up in legal trouble - or threatened with a suit - for how he handles people's identities and dangerous allegations against them in this book.
It's so clear to me after reading this that Chris needs to step back and reassess, lest he forever be stuck in a cycle of hurting people while wondering why so many dislike him. If he'd just chill out some, go back to his creative and positive ideas, and focus on helping the masses without sacrificing individuals in the process, I think all of this could be gone in a few months. Will it happen, though? Well, I can only hope, because I don't want to see someone's career end up destroyed but I also don't want to see people's mental health issues get exploited for someone else's agenda.
Had I endured this train wreck through any other means than Kindle Unlimited rental, I'd be rather mad at myself for wasting what could've been a nice can of coconut water and a couple bags of gummy worms down at the dollar store. Thankfully, however, it didn't cost me anything... other than precious time and my mood. Actually, in light of that, I think even free is too expensive.
Unfortunately, I ended up frustrated and disgusted. Time and again, Chris recounts moments where he repeated a toxic cycle of bad behaviour. While doing this, he preemptively dismisses negative opinions people may form about his actions by saying manipulative things like "this is where the hate mob will believe..." to invalidate them.
That's a shame, because I liked the idea of a book which explores the damaging effects of this whole "canceling" thing on YouTube. Instead, I got what comes across as an angry series of blog posts. The bitterness drips from Chris' words in some places and he frequently contradicts himself. One example is where he says it's unfair to call YouTubers out for wanting views then turns around a few chapters later to criticize those who made videos about him as only being in it for the views.
There are also multiple chapters dwelling on former friends who cut him out of their lives when the drama got overwhelming. One of them even said that he disapproved some of Chris' actions and it had an impact on choosing to pull away, but Chris insists that the guy's disloyal and ungrateful and brainwashed by "cancel culture." (Note: this is learned via a DM pasted in the book, where the sender mentions he doesn't want it shared.) Several barbed remarks also go toward someone he'd never met because he discovered she blocked him on Twitter. Instead of considering she may have disliked something he posted, he insists she was brainwashed by the hate mob and questions her integrity. However, a few chapters later, he says people have a right to cut out toxic friendships and block people they deem detrimental to mental health. In fact, he openly admits to blocking people he doesn't know just because he saw them "being ignorant." So, why can't these people do the same?
Suffice to say this book desperately needed an editor to spot contradictions and help eliminate some of the clear bitterness in wording... and fix the missing words, poor grammar, and other typos.
Unedited, this book makes Chris seem vindictive and narcissistic. He rants about a "responsibility to the audience" to tell them when something they see is "not okay" as if they're too stupid to make opinions for themselves on what is acceptable. He presents this as being for "the greater good" and acts as if it justifies hurting others - including bullying a recovering addict for having a relationship. Yep, he goes on a downright chilling and infuriating tirade about how Taylor Nicole Dean having a relationship is "not okay" and people are "enabling her" if they defend her right to not be harassed.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. That happens at the end, after several cycles of Chris doing stupid things to stir drama and making a shocked Pikachu face every time it leads to more hatred and criticisms. What precedes is a roller coaster of poor choices, bad PR, and semi-stalkerish attempts to force conversations from people who ghosted or criticized him. Chris has written an entire book (~250 pages) bemoaning some internet drama he endured which was worsened - by his own admission - when he kept fanning the flames to instigate situations. Despite this, he claims that he can handle online hate. He also claims that he's managed his anger and that he has his ego in check, but that seems untrue with chapter after chapter of patting himself on the back work ethic he believes is better than that of most other YouTubers.
It's exhausting, toxic, and frustrating to sit through all of this. By the 25% mark, I wanted to stop reading but he'd already mentioned Primink and I wanted to be able to draw informed opinions. So I did, and the generally uneasy "I think he did some things which were insensitive and not okay, but overall probably meant well" opinion I held toward Chris turned more and more into outright dislike for his attitude and views. It's disappointing, because this book is clearly a knee-jerk decision and perhaps he's not as manipulative as he seems when he isn't writing from a place of high emotion. Hidden in the hot mess are genuinely good bits about the impact of "cancel culture" and some cute stories about what a sweet kid his son is, but the overwhelming self pity party just wrecks everything. The obsession with a 19-year-old, disclosure of people's personal business and names without consent, constant whining, mess of contradictions, and narcissistic attitude portrayed in this book are downright unacceptable and at times unethical.
This is not a book about the dangers and repercussions of the disgusting, toxic cancel culture online. This is not a book about how to handle being the victim of cancel culture. It isn't even an expose, because it comes from such a horribly biased place which feels so laden with vitriol. It is an exercise in watching someone stubbornly refuse to take his own advice or reflect on his admitted bad behaviours.
After several overstuffed chapters of self-aggrandizing exposition comes a disturbing diatribe on how much he detests this "kid" (his infantalizing term for Primink) who he borderline stalked.
That old Chris wanted nothing more than to confront Primink at VidCon. I wasn't going to fight him, but I really wanted to scare him because I could tell that he probably doesn't do well with confrontation in real life.
If you're confused: "old Chris" is what he calls his personality before sobriety. Scarily enough, he claims this version is even more vindictive. I've transcribed a text he showed in screenshot form as an example of how horrifyingly deep his obsession with Primink gets:
Someone told me he posted a screen shot of it and said "no". It really makes me want to find that mother fucker and make a video about how much of a bitch he is. [...] it makes me really want to go punk him. I think this is something a lot of recovering addicts struggle with. I just keep thinking how lucky he is that he's fucking with sober Chris and not old insane Chris
It's disturbing, and Primink isn't even the only person he gets so worked up over. I felt unsafe on these people's behalves at times, due to the way Chris describes chasing them down, constantly messaging them, berating them for not wanting to engage with him, etc.
After Primink, he forms a frustrating duality wherein he names some people and keeps others 'anonymous' in the same way "that company with the big eared mouse" isn't naming Disney. Seeing how he doesn't like one of them because the guy's a recovered addict who takes Xanax for mental health and Chris thinks that's somehow wrong... Let's just say, I was so mad reading that part, I had to pause and rant to someone about how there's a huge difference between a doctor deciding benefits outweigh risks to fix a chemical imbalance in the brain and being addicted to something which will ultimately kill you. I kept going, though, and I can say with certainty that it gets worse with each passing chapter.
There's also this one piece of horrible advice:
Seven years ago, I was taught everything was my fault. This is a great way to live. When you realize everything is your fault, or at least you try to think that way, you take responsibility and start improving your life.
If this is anything like the "mental health advice" he offers on his channel, is it really any wonder that people take issue with his content? Imagine being someone who has been abused or otherwise victimized and loves Chris' channel. Imagine someone who, like myself, has been blamed by their abusers for what's done to them... If a YouTuber I look up to said something like that, I'd feel betrayed by such victim-blaming nonsense and crushed that someone I liked thinks the same thing as my abusers.
For as much as he preaches that influencers have a duty to set good examples and not promote harmful behaviours, Chris seems incapable of glancing in a mirror to see the irresponsible nature of his own public actions. However, what some people did to him and his family truly is abhorrent. There are people who took things too far and started tossing around threats or getting too personal. For that, my heart does ache, because nobody deserves to be bullied. Nobody deserves to be threatened with death over stupid actions they took online. Nobody's family deserves to be harassed for what that person did. There is a story hiding beneath the bitterness, obscured by the lack of self-awareness and destroyed by the stirring of stale drama.
When it comes time to finally address others who have suffered at the hands of cancel culture, the book flirts a bit with almost being something poignant... only to drop the ball. We get a chapter about how someone is being "canceled for cutting ties with a former friend" while his own former friends never had to face repercussions. Don't worry; I'm confused, too. It's a very gross oversimplification of the Slazo situation..
After an entire book ranting about how people never bothered to fact check accusations against him, he slides right in and spreads some of the misinformation against Slazo while also saying he believes it'd take a real dick to question Chey, the person who spread false rape and abuse accusations, with language which implies the allegations were true. By time he gets around to the fact Slazo actually cleared his name, it's basically a blink-and-miss-it aside which doesn't even focus properly on how Slazo was victimized by cancel culture. Chris would rather paint the narrative of how messed up it is that they attacked ImAllexx for turning against Slazo. I'm still not sure why, since he misses the point of why people are upset about that.
He does similar disservice to people like Shane Dawson, against whom he lobs allegations the internet had mostly already forgotten which could be detrimental if they made rounds again. It also becomes glaringly obvious that he's ignoring Pewdiepie, as he even mentions how everyone in that section has a racism based accusation against them and he mentioned in a previous portion of the book - using barely one sentence - that Pewdiepie had been a victim of cancel culture as well. So... why not mention Pewds? He certainly isn't failing as a creator despite attempts to "cancel" not only him but anyone who likes him, so he'd fit perfectly. Or he would, if that section weren't about how supposedly some people are "immune to cancel culture." It's a rant about how they did this, that, and the other which is so much worse in his eyes than what he did himself and it just isn't fair to him that they didn't get "canceled" like he did. But also he doesn't want them to be "canceled." But also, look at all the much-worse things they did. Rinse and repeat.
He speaks about these things as if they didn't have much impact at all on the creators involved. We barely get one sentence about how Shane's mental health has suffered. Nothing is said about how people who associated with Jeffree or didn't take a stand against him were once attacked en masse; I know that much myself and I only watch one beauty channel. Why not address how even the most subscribed individual creator on YouTube has fallen into the grasp of hate mobs? Why not mention how even those who fall victim to "hate mobs" and maintain success are negatively impacted? Like the number of licks in a Tootsie Pop, the world may never know.
More importantly, though: it's very clear how the creators in question have managed to weather the storm. They handled their controversies better than Chris did and had more income so the loss of subscribers didn't make them at risk of homelessness. They're not immune; people have tried many times to "cancel" the people he mentions. They just keep their heads up for the most part and keep on trucking instead of wallowing in the filth of extra drama and acting like their careers are over. He doesn't seem to recognize that.
Worse, this book actually perpetuates cancel culture. Chris never stops to point out how disgusting and dehumanizing it is to "cancel" another human being as if they're a tv show and not a thinking, feeling, sentient entity. Instead, he adopts the terminology to the point I never want to see or type the word "cancel" again once I'm done with this review. In fact, the very ending of the book basically just accepts the toxic culture and says to be mindful of how you would want someone to treat you if you were "canceled." Talk about missing the point and not delivering on what the book promised!
I think the saddest part is that Chris genuinely does appear to care about others' mental health. I don't doubt he's helped some people despite hurting others. It's possible to both do good and harm. It's just frustrating and haunting to read the proof that he's unwilling to recognize or understand why some of the things he's done are hurtful or unsafe to people with mental health issues. It's troublesome he didn't realize that this book as presented is a terrible idea and many of the things he says in it are not ethical, fair, or okay. He preaches that people should learn from mistakes, but in making this book he's proven that he's learned nothing from his own. I also wouldn't be overly surprised if he ends up in legal trouble - or threatened with a suit - for how he handles people's identities and dangerous allegations against them in this book.
It's so clear to me after reading this that Chris needs to step back and reassess, lest he forever be stuck in a cycle of hurting people while wondering why so many dislike him. If he'd just chill out some, go back to his creative and positive ideas, and focus on helping the masses without sacrificing individuals in the process, I think all of this could be gone in a few months. Will it happen, though? Well, I can only hope, because I don't want to see someone's career end up destroyed but I also don't want to see people's mental health issues get exploited for someone else's agenda.
Had I endured this train wreck through any other means than Kindle Unlimited rental, I'd be rather mad at myself for wasting what could've been a nice can of coconut water and a couple bags of gummy worms down at the dollar store. Thankfully, however, it didn't cost me anything... other than precious time and my mood. Actually, in light of that, I think even free is too expensive.
December 27, 2019
I discovered this book through Primink's YouTube video specifically reading the sections where Chris wrote about him. I had vaguely followed the "drama" surrounding Chris, initially wanting to give him the benefit of the doubt and form my own opinion. As someone who is in recovery, I usually like to support those who are also sober and trying to help others. This book, definitely solidified my opinion regarding what I think of him.
When reading the brief synopsis of what Chris says will be covered in the book, which is the toxic cancel culture that surrounds social media outlets, specifically YouTube, it sounds like it will be an informative, fascinating read. However, within the first few pages, I began to see that it wasn't going to get into the actual topic of "toxic cancel culture", but rather a 240+ page self-serving rant where Chris plays the victim and blames everyone else.
Before getting into my thoughts on the actual words written and message the book wanted to say, the structure of the book is abysmal. It feels like multiple blog or diary entries thrown together to create a book, though blogs I've read still check their spelling and grammar, while having at least someone they know edit the entries. Another part that I found distracting beyond the spelling and grammar was his word choice. Now, I'm definitely no prude and I will admit I have the mouth of a drunk sailor. I've read plenty of novels by many different authors who have used "adult language", for lack of a better phrase. It's one thing if it's in the character's personality, even when used to describe something and it just works. But for this book, it felt gratuitous. Also, in regards to not using the best word choices, Chris wants to be taken seriously and his poor word choice at times does him absolutely no favors. This comes back to having an editor. If he had taken the time to have someone read this and offer corrections, this book could possibly help him to make a case for himself.
Now, getting into the meat of this manuscript, there are plenty of moments of the pendulum swinging between playing the victim to "humble bragging" and even straight out stating how amazing he is. One sentence that admittedly caused me to roll my eyes so hard they got stuck for a moment, was when he was talking about his time at the treatment center: "so, being the efficient person I am..." or another where he makes himself out to be the "savior": "more and more clients were telling me how much they loved my groups. Since many of our therapists who also did groups weren't in recovery from addiction, people appreciated my experience with overcoming my own addiction." I don't doubt that he was appreciated or was utilized for his experience in recovery, but when I came across this section when I was first reading the book, it made me feel icky and gave me a shudder as it was very narcissistic.
The majority of the book is about Chris talking about how hard his life was, how all he wants to do is help people and ranting about how he's been mistreated. The other part, when not claiming the status as "victim of the century", Chris is just being angry, blaming everyone and even going so far as to talking smack about others. I've seen this mentioned by others that if you're looking for an unbiased look at how toxic social media can be when someone is "cancelled", keep moving. This isn't it at all. It's more about how "being cancelled" (through his own actions) was so traumatizing and life ruining it was for him because it wasn't his fault at all, but the "hate mob". insert eye roll here
I will be completely honest when I say that this was a disturbing and frankly, exhausting read. This read just like an angry, resentful, egocentric with a savior complex. I had a lot of trouble finishing it because it felt like Chris just wanted this out there to gain sympathy from his fans and a way to show "how great of a guy he truly is" to the rest of the world. One major takeaway from this was Chris's mentality of how he sees himself. I've heard him say something like "no one will ever understand mental health like him" but he doesn't have a college degree nor license in psychology. Also after reading this, I am convinced that he really does believe that he doesn't think his behavior is toxic and hurtful. I am also convinced that he truly thinks and believes that he's the only one in the entire world that understands addiction and mental health on a level no one else knows.
Usually I try to find at least one positive, even in the books I tend to not be a fan of, but honestly, there's nothing in this that I find positive. This truly was one of the most awful books I've ever read and proves without a doubt in my mind that Chris is nothing more than an attention-hungry,
narcissistic, wanna-be victim who "has done nothing wrong - it's everyone else"and has a god complex. He needs to have a serious sit-down and have a brutally honest look at his life and maybe try taking responsibility for his actions. And get an editor. If any of those other things don't happen, for the love of all things on this Earth, at least get a damn editor, Chris.
When reading the brief synopsis of what Chris says will be covered in the book, which is the toxic cancel culture that surrounds social media outlets, specifically YouTube, it sounds like it will be an informative, fascinating read. However, within the first few pages, I began to see that it wasn't going to get into the actual topic of "toxic cancel culture", but rather a 240+ page self-serving rant where Chris plays the victim and blames everyone else.
Before getting into my thoughts on the actual words written and message the book wanted to say, the structure of the book is abysmal. It feels like multiple blog or diary entries thrown together to create a book, though blogs I've read still check their spelling and grammar, while having at least someone they know edit the entries. Another part that I found distracting beyond the spelling and grammar was his word choice. Now, I'm definitely no prude and I will admit I have the mouth of a drunk sailor. I've read plenty of novels by many different authors who have used "adult language", for lack of a better phrase. It's one thing if it's in the character's personality, even when used to describe something and it just works. But for this book, it felt gratuitous. Also, in regards to not using the best word choices, Chris wants to be taken seriously and his poor word choice at times does him absolutely no favors. This comes back to having an editor. If he had taken the time to have someone read this and offer corrections, this book could possibly help him to make a case for himself.
Now, getting into the meat of this manuscript, there are plenty of moments of the pendulum swinging between playing the victim to "humble bragging" and even straight out stating how amazing he is. One sentence that admittedly caused me to roll my eyes so hard they got stuck for a moment, was when he was talking about his time at the treatment center: "so, being the efficient person I am..." or another where he makes himself out to be the "savior": "more and more clients were telling me how much they loved my groups. Since many of our therapists who also did groups weren't in recovery from addiction, people appreciated my experience with overcoming my own addiction." I don't doubt that he was appreciated or was utilized for his experience in recovery, but when I came across this section when I was first reading the book, it made me feel icky and gave me a shudder as it was very narcissistic.
The majority of the book is about Chris talking about how hard his life was, how all he wants to do is help people and ranting about how he's been mistreated. The other part, when not claiming the status as "victim of the century", Chris is just being angry, blaming everyone and even going so far as to talking smack about others. I've seen this mentioned by others that if you're looking for an unbiased look at how toxic social media can be when someone is "cancelled", keep moving. This isn't it at all. It's more about how "being cancelled" (through his own actions) was so traumatizing and life ruining it was for him because it wasn't his fault at all, but the "hate mob". insert eye roll here
I will be completely honest when I say that this was a disturbing and frankly, exhausting read. This read just like an angry, resentful, egocentric with a savior complex. I had a lot of trouble finishing it because it felt like Chris just wanted this out there to gain sympathy from his fans and a way to show "how great of a guy he truly is" to the rest of the world. One major takeaway from this was Chris's mentality of how he sees himself. I've heard him say something like "no one will ever understand mental health like him" but he doesn't have a college degree nor license in psychology. Also after reading this, I am convinced that he really does believe that he doesn't think his behavior is toxic and hurtful. I am also convinced that he truly thinks and believes that he's the only one in the entire world that understands addiction and mental health on a level no one else knows.
Usually I try to find at least one positive, even in the books I tend to not be a fan of, but honestly, there's nothing in this that I find positive. This truly was one of the most awful books I've ever read and proves without a doubt in my mind that Chris is nothing more than an attention-hungry,
narcissistic, wanna-be victim who "has done nothing wrong - it's everyone else"and has a god complex. He needs to have a serious sit-down and have a brutally honest look at his life and maybe try taking responsibility for his actions. And get an editor. If any of those other things don't happen, for the love of all things on this Earth, at least get a damn editor, Chris.
October 5, 2019
This book is NOT edited! I’m not really into You Tube but thought it looked interesting enough. It was not! This seems as if it’s written from the perspective of someone that always thinks the problem is everyone else and never them. The chapters are all over the place and did not tell me anything about cancel culture.
October 21, 2021
Every culture, through every century, has had people who were ostracized, either forced into literal or figurative Siberia or kept around but unable to engage in society. In the old days, you might find an old woman living on the edge of her village (perhaps she was accused of witchcraft), her family and friends unable to speak with or touch her, perhaps someone would dare to throw her a few scraps to keep her alive. The modern form of this ostracism is something called "cancel culture." Pretty much anything can trigger it - from serious crime to petty misdemeanors such as snapping at the wrong person or just running afoul of one or more people with the power to organize a cancel campaign. You can see it all over social media, and it's hit everyone from J.K. Rowling to people you've never heard of. (Ingrid Bergman was famously "canceled" for becoming pregnant by director Roberto Rosellini when she was married to another man, then just as famously "forgiven" by winning an Oscar. Ditto Frank Sinatra for his affair with Ava Gardner. I'm old enough to remember two of the largest "cancellations" of the 80s: the Satanic Panic, wherein many heavy metal bands were accused of being occultists, and the child molestation panic which contended that thousands of pre-school teachers had molested their students, on little to no evidence.)
Boutte does a pretty good job delineating his own "cancellation" inside of YouTube (a culture that has its own societal norms and laws) for what seems to be a rather small series of missteps and then whipped into a frenzy by a bunch of YouTube channels called "drama channels" - the digital version of a sewing circle.
This isn't an unbiased examination of cancel culture but reads more like a diary as Boutte finds himself slipping further and further into ostracism within the YouTube world he'd turned to make a living after being laid off. No matter what he does to try to turn around the cancel, it only intensifies it.
As you can see from many of the "reviews" here, once you are canceled, like the Untouchable Dalit tribe of India, there is no becoming uncanceled unless you have immense resources and supporters. You are now the digital version of a leper. (And woe to those who dare engage with the leper. They are then ostracized as well.)
The book could have benefitted from further editing but if you are interested in what it's like to be "canceled" this is a decent primer.
Boutte does a pretty good job delineating his own "cancellation" inside of YouTube (a culture that has its own societal norms and laws) for what seems to be a rather small series of missteps and then whipped into a frenzy by a bunch of YouTube channels called "drama channels" - the digital version of a sewing circle.
This isn't an unbiased examination of cancel culture but reads more like a diary as Boutte finds himself slipping further and further into ostracism within the YouTube world he'd turned to make a living after being laid off. No matter what he does to try to turn around the cancel, it only intensifies it.
As you can see from many of the "reviews" here, once you are canceled, like the Untouchable Dalit tribe of India, there is no becoming uncanceled unless you have immense resources and supporters. You are now the digital version of a leper. (And woe to those who dare engage with the leper. They are then ostracized as well.)
The book could have benefitted from further editing but if you are interested in what it's like to be "canceled" this is a decent primer.
Read
July 29, 2019I've been suscribed to Chris' channel for some time now and his videos have helped me change my outlook on all things mental health and I'm really grateful for him and the things he does to help people.
When shit hit the fan last March, I wasn't really in on the situation and I never really took the time to figure out why so many channels were angry or upset with him/his content. It wasn't until I read this book that I found out how bad the situation really got. Personally, I see little to no merit on the main things that people critique Chris for (e.g. "pretending" to be a therapist (he never claimed to be) or doing videos/books/etc SOLELY for the purpose of getting money (news flash, we all need money to survive), but I do see why people could get angry with him by the "formula" he chooses to spread his message on which can come across as exploitative. However, I think that that is completely subjective to the person who analyzes the content/situation and is not a a universal valid point to cancel Chris upon. Besides, I don't think it's really the formula people are really upset about since other Youtube channels have adopted THE SAME EXACT ONE and haven't received a single complaint about it (see Dr. Todd Grande's video "Did Shane Dawson Get It Right? | Eugenia Interview & Eating Disorders).
I did find that some parts of the book came across as whiny or complainey but again, that's subjective to the person that reads it and also, I think it's justifiable for someone to be angry when some personal grudge makes most of their economic income come to a halt.
I liked this book because it made me gain some insight into the personal life of one of my favorite Youtubers and one of the internet's most relevant culture phenomenon, cancel culture. Thank you Chris for exposing and opening up to such personal parts of your life to your followers knowing that the hate mob could use this as ammunition against you. Love your channel and will continue to stay suscribed and support you. :-)
When shit hit the fan last March, I wasn't really in on the situation and I never really took the time to figure out why so many channels were angry or upset with him/his content. It wasn't until I read this book that I found out how bad the situation really got. Personally, I see little to no merit on the main things that people critique Chris for (e.g. "pretending" to be a therapist (he never claimed to be) or doing videos/books/etc SOLELY for the purpose of getting money (news flash, we all need money to survive), but I do see why people could get angry with him by the "formula" he chooses to spread his message on which can come across as exploitative. However, I think that that is completely subjective to the person who analyzes the content/situation and is not a a universal valid point to cancel Chris upon. Besides, I don't think it's really the formula people are really upset about since other Youtube channels have adopted THE SAME EXACT ONE and haven't received a single complaint about it (see Dr. Todd Grande's video "Did Shane Dawson Get It Right? | Eugenia Interview & Eating Disorders).
I did find that some parts of the book came across as whiny or complainey but again, that's subjective to the person that reads it and also, I think it's justifiable for someone to be angry when some personal grudge makes most of their economic income come to a halt.
I liked this book because it made me gain some insight into the personal life of one of my favorite Youtubers and one of the internet's most relevant culture phenomenon, cancel culture. Thank you Chris for exposing and opening up to such personal parts of your life to your followers knowing that the hate mob could use this as ammunition against you. Love your channel and will continue to stay suscribed and support you. :-)
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