Why Can Celebrities No Longer Make a Comeback? The Reality of Being Disliked Is More Frightening Than a Scandal

In a sense, the entertainment industry used to be forgiving.

A celebrity could be arrested over marijuana or become involved in an extramarital-affair scandal, yet return to television almost unnoticed after a period of suspension.

They would disappear for about a year and bow in apology on a comeback program.

That was enough for people to say that they had completed their penance.

Today, however, it is not so simple.

Some celebrities disappear from television once and cannot return even after many years.

What exactly changed?

In the Age of Social Media, Penance Never Ends

The greatest difference is that the internet does not forget the past.

In the old days, once a television station decided to bring someone back, viewers would once again see that celebrity on television.

Today is different.

The moment a possible comeback is reported, old remarks and problematic behavior are dug up on social media.

Video from years ago spreads again, reigniting the controversy.

Neither television stations nor sponsors want to expose themselves unnecessarily to the risk of criticism.

What once required a one-year suspension has become an indefinite suspension imposed by the internet.

Even Without a Scandal, Being Disliked Can Make a Return Impossible

A symbolic example is a former comedian who became famous for “PERFECT HUMAN” and later moved his activities to YouTube.

He was not expelled from the entertainment industry because of a scandal.

He came into conflict with his agency over his YouTube activities and declared that he would make his living in the world of YouTube.

His highly confident and domineering persona had already alienated some people, but many others admired the decisiveness of his choice.

I believe the decisive moment was his move to Singapore.

Viewers interpreted it as moving abroad because Japanese taxes were too high, and Japanese audiences rapidly turned against him.

Was he going to make money from Japanese fans on YouTube while paying his taxes overseas?

That was the source of the resentment that spread.

Then, when reports recently appeared that he wanted to return to television, fierce criticism erupted online.

This raises one question.

After demonstrating such determination to live through YouTube, does he ultimately want to return to television after all?

Was the new way of life not supposed to be communicating through his own power without relying on the old medium of television?

But the moment he says he wants to return, all his past statements and behavior are dug up at once.

In the old entertainment industry, even someone involved in a scandal could return after completing their penance. Today, even without a scandal, someone who is disliked cannot return.

Even the bold declarations he once made become material preventing his comeback.

The internet has a remarkably good memory.

The Comedian Who Disappeared After a Scandal and the Story of His Son

Changing the subject, I recently watched a comedy show.

One of the young comedians who appeared was the son of a once-famous comedian.

His father had effectively been driven out of the entertainment industry by a scandal and now works mainly on YouTube.

In the past, he might have returned to television after a period of suspension.

I watched the son’s act, and it was rather underwhelming.

From beginning to end, it was almost entirely about his father.

He used his father’s name and stories about him to get laughs. It was certainly a quick method, but the son’s own ability to be funny never came through.

As I watched, I thought that he probably would not succeed.

But what I want to consider here is not the ability of a second-generation comedian.

It is the reality that his father, once popular on television, disappeared from the spotlight because of a scandal and now conducts most of his activities on YouTube.

This father and son also seemed to reflect the changes in the entertainment industry.

Disappearing from Television No Longer Means Disappearing from Entertainment

In the past, losing access to television made it difficult to continue working as a celebrity.

Today, however, there is YouTube.

Celebrities can continue working for their own fans without depending on television stations or sponsors.

This is a major change for entertainers.

At the same time, returning to television has become more difficult than before.

Even if a television station approves a comeback, viewers on social media may not accept it.

In other words, celebrities driven off television still have somewhere to work, but the path back to television has narrowed.

When you think about it, this is quite an ironic era.

Television stations used to blacklist celebrities. Today, viewers blacklist them through social media.

And for some reason, the celebrities who said they did not need television are often the ones who most want to return to it.