Goldie Hawn blasts cancel culture, says it's ruining comedy
Chris Rock was praised by Goldie Hawn for how he handled being slapped by Will Smith, a situation Hawn thinks describes society today
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Although she wouldn't classify herself as a "movie star," Goldie Hawn has certainly cemented herself as a Hollywood fixture.
Being in the industry for as long as she has, Hawn admits to witnessing it evolve, and not necessarily for the better.
"I think that it’s important to stand vigilant on people’s behavior and really understand when they’re out of line and be able to handle it," Hawn shared in a new profile for Variety.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"But I’m concerned about these areas: Suddenly you don’t have a job. Suddenly you can’t date a woman within the business or you’re going to get fired. They’re canceling books – classic books that no one can read. I don’t like that. There’s mistrust everywhere. So not only is there cancel culture, but there are culture wars. Schools are being politicized. But for the greater good of our children? No one’s really looking at that."
Goldie Hawn shared her disdain for cancel culture and the current climate of Hollywood. (Michael Stewart/FilmMagic)
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"There’s a disruption now. Disruptions are good. But imbalance isn’t. I hope to get back to some level of sensibility and fairness. So ‘cancel culture.’ The word itself scares me more than anything. It’s rigid, concretized thinking, which is not good. It’s got double edges on it. And who has the right to cancel?" the 77-year-old questioned.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}For Hawn, cancel culture is just one element of a larger problem.
"The level of sensitivity is so high that comedians are afraid to tell certain jokes the way they used to. And it’s a bit of a quandary for comedians; there are things you can’t say and so on and so forth. I mean, it’s fine. There are certain areas that I agree with. But the level of sensitivity is unforgiving. That’s not a good feeling when you’re in a creative mode."
Goldie Hawn hopes to get back to "some level of sensibility and fairness" amid the current world of cancel culture. (John Lamparski/Getty Images for Concordia Summit)
Hawn also had some thoughts on the Academy Awards and how this new mindset has affected the awards show.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It used to be elegant," Hawn explained. "I’m not old-fashioned, but sometimes jokes are off-color. And I’m missing reverence. Things have become politicized. I want to see people in awe. I want to see people believing again. I want to see people laughing more in a way that isn’t just at someone else’s expense."
Last year Will Smith infamously slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars after he made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's bald head. She suffers from alopecia.
Will Smith took issue with Chris Rock's joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, leading him to slap the comedian across the face at the Academy Awards in 2022. (Robyn Beck/AFP)
"It’s indicative of our culture right now," Hawn says of the incident. "I mean, you could look at it and say, ‘What the hell just happened?’ Somebody lost control. They lost their self-regulation. Their bigger brain wasn’t thinking, and they did something that was horrendous and also showed no remorse. That, to me, is a microcosm oftentimes of our world," she said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Hawn thought Rock handled the situation the best he could. "Chris was brilliant – totally held on to and controlled his emotions, was able to stand with dignity. That’s an example of what we would like our world to look like. But, unfortunately, it isn’t right now."
The actress believes the larger problem is the withering of "Old Hollywood."
Goldie Hawn, photographed here with Susan Sarandon at the premiere of their 2002 hit "The Banger Sisters," has questioned if "movie stars" have gone extinct. (Vinnie Zuffante)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Where are they?" Hawn asked of classic "movie stars."
"The old-fashioned movie star creates excitement. We used to be able to say, ‘I’m gonna take a break because I think I’m overexposed.’ A lot of these people that are coming up are making more money than anybody ever made as an actor, but they’re not known," she shared.
Hawn, known for her iconic movies roles in films like "Private Benjamin" and "Cactus Flower," is also dismissive of the idea that romantic-comedies are no longer being made.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It’s too pedestrian and not interesting?" she noted of the assertion. "How sad."
Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell pose for a portrait while filming "Overboard" in October 1987 in Fort Bragg, California. (Aaron Rapoport/Corbis/Getty Images)
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The actress was also critical of the 2018 remake of her movie "Overboard," starring Anna Faris. The original was a project she worked on with longtime partner Kurt Russell.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"‘Overboard’ was really perfect just as it was," she explained. "Very rarely does a remake match the actual original film. So I’m not a fan of remakes, period. I think that people have put their stamp on their movies, and if they’re classics, they should be left alone."