Is Consequence Culture different from Cancel Culture? Term goes viral in the wake of cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel's show

The abrupt cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel Live! has brought focus on the concepts of cancel culture and consequence culture. Many took to social media lately, in order to criticize the decision taken by ABC, after FCC chairman Brendan Carr reportedly made some threats to ABC and Kimmel.

While many referred to the situation as a result of cancel culture, others defended and said that it was consequence culture instead. One user tweeted,

"Jimmy Kimmel faces consequence culture now. Networks know when a host crosses the line." 

"MAGA is correct…Jimmy Kimmel’s firing is not cancel culture. It's not consequence culture either. It's state suppression of speech using intimidation and threats 💯💯💯," added a tweet.

"Talking about consequence culture as you have a sitting president who is a felon that has yet to face consequences," noted another netizen.

"Calling Out Hideous Behavior Is Not Cancel Culture, It's Consequence Culture," wrote another one.

Medium says that there is a very thin line of difference between cancel culture and consequence culture. The article by Medium defined consequence culture as calling out an individual who is acting maliciously. According to urban dictionary, consequence culture is defined as,

"A phenomenon of internet culture wherein individuals are held to a higher standard of responsibility for their speech and actions since not doing so will result in immediate and life changing consequences."

Meanwhile, according to dictionary.com, cancel culture is the phenomenon of rejecting someone for possessing socially and morally unacceptable views and opinions. MAGA supporters believed that Jimmy Kimmel was facing the consequences of his own actions.

Ex- US President Obama accused the White House of promoting cancel culture following the cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel's show

Former US President Barack Obama has recently reacted to the sudden cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel Live! and reportedly even made an allegation against the White House. According to reports by CBC, Barack Obama said the Trump administration had taken cancel culture to "a new and dangerous level." He additionally stated,

"After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn't like."

The statement by the former President surfaced through a tweet that he posted on Thursday, September 18, 2025. As of now, the tweet has garnered more than 14 million views as well as over 230K likes since the time it was uploaded on the social media platform.

The aforementioned tweet by Obama was in response to an article by Vox, that was penned down by senior correspondent Zack Beauchamp. In the article, Beauchamp wrote that Jimmy Kimmel was fired because the Trump administration did not like his viewpoints. He further wrote that they chose to threaten the network until "they shut him up."

Barack Obama posted a follow-up tweet in response to another article by The New York Times. The article reported that a Washington Post columnist was apparently fired because of certain posts that she shared after Charlie Kirk was assassinated. Obama wrote in the follow-up tweet that this was the type of "government coercion" that was supposed to be prevented by the First Amendment.

He even urged the media companies to stand up rather than give in to such situations.

Meanwhile, no official statement from Jimmy Kimmel could be obtained yet.