Zoey: Mob mentality -- it's been around forever.
People love to come together over something
or someone they hate.
The court of public opinion has always been harsh.
♪ Hey, you, get down ♪ But now with social media,
they can do it instantaneousl.
People from all corners of the globe could now unite
These days, all it takes is the touch of a screen
and someone is canceled.
And thanks to Luca's tweet outing my high-profile boss
for stealing my design,
I had unwillingly been dragged into the public shaming
that we now know as "cancel culture."
Oh! You self-important, shortsighted,
dumb, disrespectful, beady-eyed, boot-cut-wearing,
Lenny Kravitz-looking [bleep]
You're welcome.
♪ Watch out, world, I'm grown now ♪
♪ I'm grown ♪
♪ Learn something new every day ♪
♪ I don't know, so I'mma feel my way ♪
♪ Got the weight of the world on me ♪
♪ But no regrets, this is what I say ♪
♪ Watch out, world, I'm grown now ♪
♪ I'm grown ♪ ♪ You can tell me ♪
♪ My heart beating so loud ♪
♪ Mama, look, I'm grown now ♪
♪ I'm grown ♪
So, why the hell would you accuse my boss of stealing?
Well, I obviously knew you weren't gonna do it,
so I did it for you.
I didn't want you to, and, mm,
I really did not want you tagging me in the post.
Well, then, how would anyone know it was you?
You deserve the credit.
You're being mad ungrateful right now.
No.
Just mad. Mad mad.
Did you ever think for a second that there was maybe a reason
I didn't call out Esme?
Yeah, because you have a problem with undermining authority,
any type of confrontation,
and when it comes to your talent,
you lack confidence.
Okay, all of that is true, but you know I am not giving him
the satisfaction of admitting that.
No. That was not the reason.
It's that I did not want to call out another woman of color,
and, quite frankly, Luca, none of this is your business.
Well, regardless of what color Esme is
or whether or not this is my business,
she violated the sacred code of fashion.
Mm, and you violated the code of our friendship.
You put my internship, my degree,
and possibly my entire career in jeopardy.
So, delete the tweet now.
[ Sighs ]
Fine.
Oh, my... [ Twitter app chirps ]
Deleted.
♪
You had him delete the tweet? Why?
People need to see that their favorite designer
is a piece of flaming hot turd.
Oh, they're seeing it.
Someone screenshotted Luca's stupid-ass tweet
and now it's posted literally everywhere.
Are you serious? Esme just got Donkey of the Day.
Yeah, it was the hot topic around my community service
roadside trash pickup.
So, Zoey, the only thing deleting a tweet does
is pique people's interest.
It makes it seem like you have something to hide.
Right, which you don't. Esme does.
It's why she was called out to begin with, okay?
Shady people have to answer
to the shady things they've done.
Luca needs to get his shady ass beat.
No. No.
No one is beating anybody's ass,
and, guys, I talked to Luca and I handled it.
Well, um, if by "handled it"
you mean "made things worse," uh...
#EsmeIsOverParty is trending right now on Twitter,
right below #HilariousAirplaneBathroomFire.
Oh, I saw that. It was truly hilarious.
Those people got so hurt.
Wait, maybe there's a chance Esme hasn't seen this yet.
She gets so many mentions every day.
I mean, she can't keep track of them all, right?
Vivek: Totally possible.
I mean, I tweet at John Cena every single day
and never even get so much as a tweet back.
Why are you tweeting at John Cena?
Hey, I'm desperate, alright?
I've been kicked out of college and I need a J-O-B.
And according to OKGigs.net,
Cenation is among the top 900 places to be employed.
The free gym membership alone is worth it.
Hmm. Thanks, Vivek.
You always show me that things could be so much worse.
♪ Whip it up ♪
♪ That's what's up, bottom's up ♪
♪ Whip it up with me ♪
♪ Whip it up ♪ ♪ Uh-huh ♪
♪ Whip it up ♪ ♪ Yeah ♪
♪ Start it up just for fun ♪
♪ Whip it up with me ♪
♪ Yeah ♪ ♪ Unh-unh ♪
♪ Yeah ♪ ♪ Ey-ey ♪
♪ Hey, yeah ♪
What's up? How's your workout?
Ooh, it was brutal.
I don't miss track at all,
but I do miss the endurance it gave me.
I almost threw up like three times on that bike.
Let's be honest. Your endurance was never great.
[ Both laugh ]
Okay, abs.
Your boy's gotta stay in the gym
is he wants any chance with you superficial Cal U girls.
I didn't know you were checking for Cal U girls,
let alone girls at all.
[ Scoffs ] Why would you assume that?
Because you said you came out to your parents.
I'm assuming you didn't come out as straight?
No. I came out as queer.
Look, sexuality is a spectrum,
and I'm not exclusively on one end of that spectrum.
Bottom line is, I [bleep] with women.
Okay, damn.
Well, I need to clarify some things up with Sky.
I may have misrepresented you
when we were chatting last night.
My bad. Oh, so you and your sister
are talking about me now, huh?
Okay, okay, calm down.
Sky and I talk about everything,
so you can stick to jumping those hurdles
and not to conclusions, okay?
Okay. I'll take that.
How are you doing without having your sister around?
[ Sighs ] You know, I'm dealing.
It sucks not having someone to do everything with,
and I miss her so much, but, you know, it's whatever.
I can change that. Starting right now.
Okay, I'm not about to get up on that bike again.
I was thinking breakfast, but hey,
if you want to go again, we can go again.
[ Laughs ]
Come on.
Okay.
Ana was right.
Deleting the tweet only made people ravenous
for more information,
like sharks smelling blood in the water.
I wanted to put an end to this madness,
and the only way to stop the pile-on of Esme
was to publicly show my support for her.
Okay. We're live.
We're live. Um...
Hey. [ Laughs ]
Hey, it's Zoey, and I wanted to come on here
to clear the air.
So, I'm sure by now, you all have heard
about the whole Esme situation,
and I wanted to go on the record to say
that I did not give anyone permission
to post those photos of my sketch and Esme's design.
This is not how I wanted things to play out,
and Esme has been a great mentor to me,
and this internship has really been a dream come true.
There is it.
Hopefully, this deads the situation
and takes some of the heat off of Esme.
Okay. Doo-doo-doo.
Oh. Uh...
[ Notifications popping ]
In trying to cancel Esme's cancellation,
did I just cancel myself?
♪
Holy crap, these comments!
Zoey, why do you still have these up?
I mean, I didn't even know that there are so many
creative ways to call someone a ho.
Are you serious? Are you being serious?
You guys just told me never to delete anything.
Yeah, but when people start calling you
a slop bucket, you can delete it.
So, Zo, just curious, what made you even think of doing this?
I was thinking I could make
the whole thing go away by making a statement,
but now I'm getting mad amounts of clapback.
Like, oh, "I'm a weak bitch.
I'm a clout chaser.
I'm bringing Black women down."
And I don't even know what I did wrong.
I mean, it's pretty clear, actually.
You didn't deny that Esme was guilty of stealing.
Yeah, and by not denying it, you're actually cosigning
Luca's accusation that Esme stole your design.
Also, what people seem to be really mad about
is that you're dragging another Black woman.
I know! Which is ridiculous, because the whole reason
I decided not to call her out
was to protect another Black woman.
Yeah, the irony's not lost on us.
Your social media naiveté is.
Oh, God, these are getting uncomfortably personal.
What? You're actually making me feel better about my life.
Really? Yeah.
Oh, wow. Somebody just said I lost my last job
because I slept with Joey Bada$$.
[ Gasps ] I knew it! I knew it!
Pay up!
You have a bet? It's not true.
Oh, Rochelle just called you out for stealing her boyfriend.
That is very true.
Vivek: Ugh, and therein lies the danger of cancel culture.
The ember of "calling out"
ignites into a simmering "pile-on,"
which then grows into a raging forest fire of "cancelation,"
decimating everyone and everything in its path.
[ Sighs ]
As much as I love fire and metaphors --
don't get me wrong, I do love fire --
but I need to know what to do right now.
You do nothing.
Something bigger and more scandalous will come along
and it'll shift everyone's hate onto somebody else
because that's how social media works.
Yeah, and just hope that when it's over,
there hasn't been too much damage
to your life and reputation.
In the meantime, just hunker down and wait
for it to blow over.
[ Cellphone chimes ]
♪
Well, this definitely blows.
[ Sighs ]
Oh, wow. It is so cool up here.
I can't believe I've never been to the press box before.
And look, you can even see the Cal U Cheer Memorial.
Stick with me, kid. I'll take you places.
[ Laughs ] [ Cellphone ringing ]
Hey, um...
Oh, damn.
Did you just decline your sister to kick it with me?
Wow. I'm honored.
I'll call her back later.
It's just... Sky gets really jealous
when I experience things without her.
Mm. She sounds weak.
It's a good thing you got rid of her.
[ Laughs ] Never.
Well, she's really going to be jealous
when she finds out that I'm taking you out
tonight to experience someplace new.
Oh, word? Mm-hmm.
Then you should know we're gonna have to
drive to Monrovia if you want to experience someplace new,
'cause I've been to every spot around here.
No shade to Monrovia, but you've never experienced
these local spots with me.
Okay.
[ Both chuckle ]
[ Cow lows ]
I never thought I'd say this out loud,
but maintaining a virtual sustainable farm
is the most exhilarating thing I've ever done in my life.
That's a fact. Have you seen how big my okra's growing?
My shit is thriving.
I didn't know okra could grow that big.
Y'all in this game, too?
I just had a situation with my lima beans,
but I don't really wanna talk about it.
Hey.
Yo.
What's up? You know what's up.
I'm sorry? You're sorry?
Don't be sorry to me. Say sorry to Zoey.
She's the one who's getting canceled
over your dumbass, overzealous tweet.
Okay. Well, you know, this has been nice,
but we should probably go.
What that lady did to Zoey was foul, so I spoke up.
But hey, if you're good with your girl
getting her shit jacked, cool.
You wanna run that comment back real quick? Alright, alright, come on.
No, no, I'm just asking what he said.
Do you want to run it back? We're all friends here.
This is probably just some misplaced anger because it's lunchtime.
You know, low blood sugar is not good for nobody.
Yeah, you know, and you haven't had anything to eat today,
so, like, let's go get you a parfait or something.
I don't know why you're coming at me, bro.
If anybody should have called out Zoey's boss,
it should've been you. And what you should be doing is keeping
my girl's name out your mouth.
Whatever you say, playboy.
Whatever you say. [ Cows lowing, thudding ]
You see? Look at you.
What? You're trying to be a hero, and all your cows is dead.
Pick up your controller, man.
♪
And, Esme, I really thought the video
was just gonna make everything go away.
I don't know how else to say it. I am so sorry.
And I accept your apology. Okay.
But the problem is, I don't know how we move forward from this.
Well, we could pretend it never happened.
Mm. Like a fun game between us.
We could, but the truth is everyone knows.
And wouldn't you be uncomfortable knowing
that no one can trust you?
I mean, the ill will from your coworkers
will create a hostile work environment
that's not gonna be good for anyone,
especially you.
[ Sighs ] Okay.
So, let me get this straight. Are you letting me go?
No. If I let you go,
then it's like I'm punishing you for your accusations.
Honestly, my hands are tied.
But if you stay, chances are
you're gonna be incredibly uncomfortable.
[ Sighs ]
Truly at a loss here.
Which is why I brought you in.
To help me figure out what to do.
What would you do?
What would Zoey Johnson do?
♪
[ Sighs ]
Well, I think Zoey Johnson just fired herself.
The thing is, at the end of the day,
Esme did a great job on the jacket,
and she even elevated the design in a way that I couldn't have.
Right?
Could I have?
[ Sighs ]
I want my design back.
I'm confused. I thought we had an agreement.
No, you tricked me into coming to an agreement.
Did I? You did.
I did? Did you?
I did not. No, you did.
Damn, she's good.
Okay, I never wanted to call out another woman of color,
especially a Black woman because I thought it was important
that we have each others' backs.
And I completely agree with that.
But you clearly don't, because you obviously never had mine,
and if I let this slide, you're gonna do this to someone else.
What exactly would you like me to do here, Zoey?
The right thing.
I want you to stop production on the jacket
and give me my design back,
or I can come out with a very definitive statement
about how you not only you stole my sketch,
but practically manipulated me into quitting.
Mm.
Honestly, Esme, I'm at a loss.
Help me figure out what to do.
Eh, what would you do?
What would Esme Sharp do?
♪ Yeah ♪
Oh, thank you.
♪ Put two and two together, now the...add up ♪
♪ Damn, got fed up ♪
♪ Put two and two together, now the...add up ♪
♪ Unh, yeah ♪
♪ Watching...add up ♪
♪ Add up ♪
♪ Yeah, watching... ♪ [ Music distorts, fades ]
Damn. You look fire in that dress.
Thank you.
You, too.
Appreciate it. How you feeling? [ Chuckles ]
[ Cow lowing ]
Well, between losing my cows earlier
and this typhoon wrecking my crops,
my farm is ruined.
Yep. No more berries for my people.
Eh, I told you you planted too early.
It ain't got nothing to do with no typhoon.
Your irrigation system's just whack.
My irrigation system is fine.
It's this right toggle that's not really working. Hey.
Guess who took her power back from Esme?
Wait, what? Mm-hmm.
What happened? So, bad news first.
I lost my internship!
But it's okay, because after I fired myself, which --
i-it's a long story --
I walked straight into Esme's office
and demanded my jacket, my design, and my pride back,
plus, ooh, I got this stapler for the road just because.
Mm. Look at my baby, stealing staplers,
taking her power back. Come here. Ooh, I know.
I can't belive I actually stood up to her.
It was so powerful...
Mm-hmm. ...and thrilling and scary,
and I had suspected that I hadn't worn enough deodorant.
In that moment, for sure confirmed.
Wow.
I mean, gross, but wow.
Thank you. I'm proud of you, Freshman.
Oh, see, bro? You lost your cows
and almost got into some Black-on-Black violence
for no reason.
What are you talking about?
Hmm? Oh. What is he talking about?
Uh... [ Sighs ]
What are you thinking here? Um...
Me and Luca exchanged some words,
and then also, all my cows are gone.
Forget the cows, Aaron. What happened with Luca?
Nothing, honey, okay?
I just wanted to make sure he knew to stay in his own lane.
That was it. Mm.
After I specifically asked you not to say
anything to him, honey? You did,
but it's not like I went looking for the guy.
He just happened to be where we were at,
and he needed to be checked.
I checked him, so... I don't see what the problem is.
The problem is I'm tired of people
interfering and stepping in like they need to protect me.
I was defending you.
I really didn't need you to do that.
Okay. Alright. So, I'm just supposed to
sit back and pretend that everything's okay
and watch this dude blow your life up? Mm.
He's not your man and he overstepped some boundaries.
This has nothing to do with him being my man
and everything to do with your bruised ego.
Oh, you know, I-I'mma just head out.
I swear, I left something on the oven.
No, please. I'll go. I feel like...
uh, spending the night alone anyway.
Are we really -- Are we doing this right now?
Really? Yeah, Aaron, I am.
I'm making a decision for myself to be by myself,
but do you need to go check in with Luca,
make sure you guys are both cool with that?
♪
[ Door opens, closes ]
[ Sighs ]
Don't be mad at me. I...
[ Sighs ]
Hey. Oh, hey.
I didn't think I'd see you tonight.
Me either. Why are you still up?
I couldn't sleep,
so I thought reading about maritime law
would do the trick and put me out, but so far,
I've gotten through shrimp regulations.
Okay. Oh, is that the jacket?
Oh, yeah, it is.
I got the jacket back and the design, too.
That's amazing. Mm-hmm.
And what happened with the internship?
Well, the internship is history.
But hey, wait. At least I got this cool...
stapler.
Hmm. Parents gonna put that in a frame
instead of your diploma? Ana, Ana, Ana,
please let me have this.
You're right. You're right. I'm sorry.
Congratulations on sticking up for yourself.
Thanks.
So, what are you gonna do with the jacket?
Absolutely nothing.
♪ I'm pulling my weight in gold ♪
The thing about "cancel culture"
is that it's all about controlling the narrative.
Who's telling the story?
Who has the most compelling argument?
Who's trying to gain or hold onto power?
And in that moment,
I was done with letting other people control mine.
Whether they were my boss, my friend,
my man, or some faceless troll on Twitter,
I was done allowing anyone to talk over me or for me.
My voice, my sketch, my jacke.
They would be my own.
Whether or not I wanted to do anything
with any of those things was nobody's business but min.
Just do it. You're desperate, are you not?
The most. Okay, it turns out
having a misdemeanor and no degree on your résumé
doesn't make you a very desirable candidate
for any jobs, Cenation or otherwise.
Okay, look, I think it's time to just roll the dice,
lie on your application, and hope that the company
is too lazy to do a background check on you.
Isn't that risky?
It's the American way, Vivek.
It's the American way.
♪
Vivek: "Have you ever been convicted of a misdemeanor or a felony?"
Education level...
PhD.
"Never forgets keys.
Understands Siberian Forest Cats."
Mm!
Hell, yeah.
♪