Chrisette Michele on being canceled, Kanye West comparisons

Chrisette Michele made time on Tuesday to respond to one simple question posed online: ‘Should Chrisette Michele be Un-Cancelled?’ 

TV host Jawn Murray initially asked the question on Twitter on Monday, writing: “Since our culture is so hyped about Kanye West’s #Donda album; it’s time to UNcancel @ChrisetteM!”

“I hated her singing at 45’s inauguration… But #ChrisetteMichele never disrespected our history/ancestors; didn’t rock a MAGA hat; & never ran a covert campaign to sway an election!” he added.

Entertainment outlet theJasmineBrand reposted Murray’s tweet on their Instagram account to its 613,000 followers. 

“I appreciate @thejasminebrand re-sharing my thoughts and I respect the dialogue whether folks agree or not!” Murray commented under the post.  

His initial tweet sparked heated debate on social media, with one IG user responding “I don’t think she was genuinely canceled I just feel like her career was just really at the end. She was never an A List Celeb, so her career could end easy.”

Another wrote, “I think no one cares or thinks about her either way.”

A third added, “This! We be loyal to Black men for everything…whether they disrespect our ppl, our women, our culture….but anytime a Black women does the slightest thing, she’ll lose her whole career.”

Michele caught wind of the dialogue and shared theJasmineBrand’s post on her own IG account along with the following caption: “I always wonder how to respond to this question. It’s actually the reason I don’t do interviews anymore.”

The singer drew sharp criticism following her decision to perform at former President Donald Trump’s inauguration, where gospel singer Travis Greene also joined her on stage. The cancel culture movement came for Michele after the performance and her record label dropped her. 

Though West was quite vocal about his support for Trump throughout his presidency his career barely took a hit. His recently released tenth studio album Donda pulled in over 60M streams in the U.S. during its first 24 hours on Apple Music, per Billboard.

“Being compared to Kanye & Travis for the last 5 years. Watching them soar into the highest realms of stardom. Waiting on Gods hand to show me exactly what my story will look like,” Michele noted in her Instagram post on Tuesday. 

“I’ve made a choice to stay full of gratitude and master peace, but today, this post has inspired me to allow the energy of comparison to enter my feed,” she continued. “I think most of the comments are well intended and I’m not really attached to the results of the conversation. But it is an interesting topic.”

She went on to note that West endorsed Trump and “Travis sang with me, and… time unfolded,” she added. 

“What do YOU think history has proven in this tale? What did you think 5 years ago? What do you think today? Would you release new music if you were me?” she asked her followers. 

“What would you sing about? Who would you sing to? Why? What does my role as FEMALE play in this story? What about my role as Christian? How about my role as it compares to Kanye & Travis?” she concluded. 

One user commented, “I learned that, within the Black community, we will be so heavy handed and brutal towards Black women while coddling Black men.”

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