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Levar Burton Says It’s Not ‘Cancel Culture’ — It’s ‘Consequence Culture’

Levar Burton Says It’s Not ‘Cancel Culture’ — It’s ‘Consequence Culture’

Iconic TV star and Jeopardy! guest host to-be Levar Burton popped up on The View recently for a conversation with Meghan McCain. McCain was talking about the Dr. Seuss books situation, which remains a popular cable TV talking point for some reason. Their conversation was brief, but it provided Burton with the opportunity to speak some wisdom into the conversation around “cancel culture.”

It started when McCain asked Burton, who knows a little bit about children’s books, how he felt about Dr. Seuss Enterprise’s decision to pull a couple of books from publication over concerns of racial insensitivity in some of the artwork. “What do you think of that decision and about the cancel culture surrounding works of art or artists that are controversial?” she asked.

Burton started off my acknowledging that many good books that are still being published with Dr. Seuss’ name on them. “Dr. Seuss is more than a company that decided to put a couple of books on the shelf,” he responded. “That man, Theodor Geisel, is responsible for generations of wholesome, healthy, wonderful and imaginative, creative content for children of all ages. And so, I think we need to put things in perspective.”

But then he latched onto McCain’s use of the term “cancel culture,” and that’s where things got interesting.

“In terms of cancel culture, I think it’s misnamed,” Burton said. “I think we have a consequence culture. And that consequences are finally encompassing everybody in the society, whereas they haven’t been ever in this country.”

“And I think it has everything to do with a new awareness by people who were simply unaware of the real nature of life in this country for people who have been othered since this nation began,” Burton continued.

You can watch the clip in its entirety below.

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