Cancel culture is running amok. People, movies, songs, and books are getting canceled left and right for including offensive or derogatory references. Now, many popular songs that have long been considered classics could be next on the chopping block as cancel culture takes on new agendas each day. Take a look at our list of classic songs that could face criticism from the masses in the weeks and months to come.
“Summer Nights” by the cast of Grease
Critics have called this song “rapey” because of a call-and-response lyric that alludes to how a woman was date raped. The lyrics are “Tell me more, tell me more / did she put up a fight?” which people claim portrays John Travolta’s character as a sexual predator who targeted an innocent virgin girl during the summer of fun.
“Delilah” by Tom Jones
The song was originally recorded in 1968 and has been played millions of times since. However, the lyrics promote domestic violence in a way that has outraged the cancel culture. The offensive lyrics are the following: “I crossed the street to her house, and she opened the door / She stood there laughing / I felt the knife in my hand, and she laughed no more.”
The song has long been used by the Welsh Ruby Union but has faced calls to stop using it as recently as a year ago. They were also urged to switch the song back in 2014 and 2016. The group defended the use of the song, saying: “Within rugby, Delilah has gained prominence through its musicality rather than because of its lyrics. There is, however, plenty of precedent in art and literature, prominently in Shakespearean tragedies, for instance, for negative aspects of life to be portrayed.”
“Do They Know It’s Christmas?” by Band-Aid
This 1984 is a Christmas classic beloved by millions. However, it might soon be canceled because it promotes the “white savior mentality.” The song’s lyrics express how people of Africa and other parts of the world might not know the first thing about having a white Christmas.
“There’s a world outside your window / And it’s a world of dread and fear / Where the only water flowing / Is the bitter sting of tears… And there won’t be snow in Africa this Christmas time / The greatest gift they’ll get this year is life / Where nothing ever grows, no rain or rivers flow / Do they know it’s Christmas time at all?”
“Fat Bottomed Girls” by Queen
This classic rock song premiered in 1978. However, it has not aged well as people claim it is “fat-shaming” and a promotion of child sex abuse. The lyrics that offended the masses are:
“I was just a skinny lad / Never knew no good from bad / But I knew love before I left my nursery / Left alone with big fat Fanny / She was such a naughty nanny / Hey big woman, you made a bad boy out of me.”
Critics fear that the hidden meaning of the song is “child abuse.” However, Brian May, Queen’s guitarist and writer of the song, spoke about its true meaning a few years ago.
“It’s about a young man who comes to appreciate women of substantial girth,” he told Mojo magazine in October 2008. “I wrote it with Fred in mind, as you do, especially if you’ve got a great singer who likes fat bottomed girls… or boys.”