A shaky Rolling Stone exposé published earlier this month set out to examine comedian Reggie Watts’ potential culpability in his ex-girlfriend’s suicide. On the page, the story morphed into a wider examination of his possibly suspect behavior in previous relationships, culminating in a claim of assault. Through his lawyers, Watts has denied the allegation. But the murky situation didn’t stop commenters from falling back on a cliché of cancellation: “I never liked his stuff anyway.”
A clip from Watts’ parody track “F*ck Sh*t Stack” spread on X with the caption “lock his cringe millennial a*s up bro I’ve seen enough.” Millennials old enough to remember Watts’ rise responded that he was nearly 40 at the time the song was written, placing him solidly as a member of Gen X. The slapfight spiraled into a broad argument about what makes a piece of art — specifically television — “millennial.” Is it, as younger generations might argue, simply being embarrassing? Is it an ethos of earnestness? Suffocating irony? Following the conventions of the last decade’s headlines, is being a millennial simply anything you don’t like?
