Cancel culture on social media: An examination of public sentiment on X in the wake of four celebrities facing calls to be cancelled

The concept of ‘canceling’ someone is certainly not new. The purpose of this study was to examine four celebrities who have faced calls to be canceled. The celebrities include American rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, singer Chappell Roan, country singer Zach Bryan, and National Football League (NFL) player Nick Bosa. A content analysis of posts on X was examined over two periods of time in fall 2024 and fall 2025. Agenda-setting theory and deviance were applied to this study as a means of determining how social media conversations set the agenda and label individuals. Overall, there were more negative posts in fall 2024 for all four celebrities, but more positive posts or neutral posts in fall 2025. This is noteworthy, as it indicates that canceling someone could be a short-term reaction. Furthermore, it is important to examine this timely topic and to look at how social media continues to be a platform for propagating news and shaping opinions.