From fame to infamy: Navigating the reception and cancellation of Petros Filippidis by YouTube users

In recent years, numerous high-profile celebrities with substantial cultural and financial influence have faced allegations of misconduct, abuse and sexual harassment. Among them is Petros Filippidis, a prominent Greek actor and director whose career has spanned several decades since the 1980s. Filippidis became a central figure in Greece’s #MeToo movement after multiple female colleagues accused him of sexual harassment. These accusations led to, among other consequences, his exclusion from theatrical productions and (temporary) removal from television broadcasts, culminating in his brief but highly publicized imprisonment on charges of attempted rape. His case, much like others on an international scale, signals a cultural shift in how celebrity scandals are addressed, particularly through the lens of social media. Drawing on recent scholarship around cancel culture and its proliferation on digital platforms, this article examines how YouTube users engage with narratives surrounding Filippidis’s accusations. The resulting metadiscourses, often extending beyond cancellation, prompt a reassessment of the celebrity’s public persona, past artistic contributions and the audience’s relationship with them. A netnographic analysis of diverse viewpoints expressed on YouTube conveys broader societal debates on moral and aesthetic values, comic innocence and contested understandings of gender and authority, highlighting tensions over who is entitled to voice criticism publicly and who has the legitimacy to suppress or contain it. The analysis also underscores how these online expressions are deeply embedded within prevailing power dynamics, involving a wide range of actors, each with differing interpretations of cancel culture and distinct political agendas.