'We've Got to Stop This': Podcasters Hit Back at Cancel Culture Madness after Ben Shapiro's Mere Presence Is Deemed 'Harmful' and 'Unacceptable'

Billy Hallowell : Aug 29, 2022
Faithwire.com

"Throughout history, there's been a marketplace of ideas where people have been able to sit down and discuss their opinions and listen and that is no longer the case. We're podcasters. We use our voice to tell stories. And everybody's story deserves to be told and to be heard, but that's not what's happening in the industry. We're seeing people that believe differently are just canceled for their beliefs." -Misty Phillip

[Faithwire.com] Two podcasters are sounding the alarm on the perils of cancel culture after the Podcast Movement, an organization hosting its annual convention this week in Dallas, issued a widely rebuked apology in response to conservative commentator Ben Shapiro briefly showing up to take photos with fans. (Screengrab image)

Misty Phillip, founder of Spark Media Ventures, and fellow Podcast Movement attendee Jodi Howe told CBN's Faithwire the entire ordeal is an example of cancel culture run amok.

"We've got to stop this, and we have to accept the fact that we're not all going to think alike," Howe said during a video interview from the conference. "We don't get to shut people down when they say and do things that we don't like, and it's OK to disagree. It's OK to disagree without attacking people that have different opinions."

The strange ordeal began Thursday, when the Podcast Movement sent a series of tweets addressing Shapiro's presence at the conference the day before.

"Hi folks, we owe you an apology before sessions kick off for the day. Yesterday afternoon, Ben Shapiro briefly visited the PM22 expo area near The Daily Wire booth," the organization tweeted Thursday. "Though he was not registered or expected, we take full responsibility for the harm done by his presence."

The Podcast Movement went on to admit Shapiro's organization, The Daily Wire, was sold a booth at the conference, acknowledging the "weight of that decision is now painfully clear."

"Those of you who called this 'unacceptable' are right," read another tweet. "The pain caused by this one will always stick with us. We promise that sponsors will be more carefully considered moving forward."

Phillip and Howe expressed their dismay over the Podcast Movement's messaging, noting numerous people enthusiastically approached Shapiro and took photos with him.

"We actually ran into Ben and he was gracious and kind and stopped and took a picture with us and several other people," Phillip said. "So, I was so shocked when I saw the tweets ... and I was wondering, 'What did he do to harm? He was kind and gracious to us.'"

Phillip, who runs a large network of Christian podcasts, was "disappointed" by the Podcast Movement's reaction because the conference is "supposed to be a place that celebrates diversity and inclusion"... Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

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