As more documentaries are released and are said to be exposing the truth behind well-liked and extremely popular stores, the public audience seems to be quick to cancel those who shop or even work at these stores rather than considering that all stores have unexposed secrets. A store in particular that is ruffling the public’s feathers is Brandy Melville. For many years, Brandy Melville has upset the public, since it is a store whose sizing range is limited to “one size fits all.” Although this criticism has circulated the internet for many years, the store remains open and with more success than ever. Recently, due to the release of the MAX documentary,Brandy Hellville & the Cult of Fast Fashion, the store now faces backlash. In the documentary, the producers expose that the company has many dark secrets, but more in particular, the documentary details the treatment of the employees. Now, I am not justifying the company’s actions toward employees. Predatory behavior toward any employee is not okay. The treatment these employees face are atrocious. But, it is important to remember that I am criticizing the public’s reaction to news like this. Immediately, many went onto the social media platform, TikTok, and began to ridicule the company, but then later moved on to blast those who shop from the store. The reality behind their reaction is that their favorite stores most likely treat their employees the same way Brandy Melville does. So the true question is, why are people so quick to cancel?
It is no surprise that the public reacted this way, but it is truly ridiculous. Stores like H&M and Forever 21 have been exposed to having their clothes manufactured in sweatshops outside of the United States and that they hire minors and mistreat them. These same people who are first to criticize you for not protesting for what they believe are the same people who will stop buying from one place, but continue going to another store without realizing they do the same. Cancel culture is the biggest problem. In our world today, people are so quick to judge where you shop, who you buy from, what you listen to, or simply what you stand for or believe. These people seem to forget that not everything and not everyone in life are perfect. There is a dark side to everything, but the current way of handling these problems just adds more fuel to the fire. Instead of “ canceling” someone, why not address the actual problem? Realistically, what are they doing to aid the problem by canceling people? Again, this is no justification for the way employees are treated, but if the people who cancel others for shopping at stores which treat retail employees horribly truly care about these employees, they would stop shopping immediately at all stores, because all stores do it too.