A public figure made a statement using language that offended his tribal in-group. As a consequence of that faux pas, he was expected to make an elaborate public apology and he did, both on television and on Twitter. However, the apology did not seem to please anyone. The person conducting the on-air apology seemed hell-bent on making his own crowd-pleasing point, to bolster his own reputation instead of allowing the public figure to explain himself. Twitter was not kind either – the apology thread was met with ridicule and disgust. Ultimately everybody involved moved on, but not until the public figure learned his lesson.
Ted Cruz's Struggle Session
The Cruz interview is peak cringe. I don’t buy that it’s the right doing a cancel, though.
The right isn’t above cancel-culturing (see: everything before 2016) but he’s an elected representative being scrutinized by his constituency.
Carlson refusing to have Cruz on his show would’ve been a stronger case.