MAGA's cancellation spree

MAGA is on a cancellation spree, targeting marquee entertainment and tech 
companies with boycotts over comments or content the right deems 
inappropriate or offensive.

Why it matters: The movement is on a crusade to "take back the culture" in 
a country it views as jolting to the left. Its ability to impose societal 
penalties on companies it views as pushing that drift will show how much 
heft the right's campaign has.

Driving the news: Disney saw twice as many U.S. streaming cancellations in 
September amid the Jimmy Kimmel saga than it did, on average, for the 
trailing three months, according to data from entertainment analysis 
company Antenna.

Roughly 3 million people canceled their Disney+ subscriptions last month 
compared with the roughly 1.2 million trailing three-month average.
Roughly 4.1 million people canceled their Hulu subscriptions last month, 
compared with around 1.9 million on average for the three months prior.
Yes, but: Both services saw strong subscription additions in September, 
offsetting any boycott-related cancellations.

Disney+ gained a net total of 2.18 million new subscribers compared with 
1.81 million, on average, for the three months prior. Hulu saw 2.11 
million additions, compared with the 1.87 million trailing three-month 
average.
Catch up quick: MAGA has expanded its target list at a rapid clip in 
recent months. It initially targeted Disney after Kimmel made 
controversial remarks about the political leanings of the alleged assassin 
of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Netflix: MAGA excoriated Netflix after prominent social media accounts 
highlighted LGBTQ+ characters from shows like "Cocomelon" and "Jurassic 
World: Camp Cretaceous," accusing the network of "grooming." The push came 
years after the right called for people to cancel subscriptions over a 
French film called "Cuties," which actually denounced social media's 
hyper-sexualization of young girls.
Wikipedia: MAGA erupted after Wikipedia's co-founder listed sites he 
claimed were "blacklisted" from being used as sources on the website, 
including Breitbart, Daily Caller, Epoch Times, Fox News, The Federalist 
and more.
NFL: MAGA came down hard on the National Football League for naming Puerto 
Rican singer Bad Bunny as the Super Bowl halftime show performer. 
Activists took issue with Bad Bunny's use of Spanish and gender-fluid 
wardrobe, arguing the NFL should instead tap someone who sings in English 
and has more traditional gender performances.
MAGA has also targeted prominent retail brands like Target, Bud Light and 
Cracker Barrel, some for stances on DEI or LGBTQ+ inclusion and others for 
simply changing longtime and beloved logos.

Zoom out: Boycotts of major media companies are traditionally short-lived, 
often catching fire briefly on social media before petering out.

A high-profile Facebook ad boycott during the summer of 2020 only lasted 
one month and barely made a dent in Facebook's ad revenue.
A Republican-led effort to cancel Netflix around the "Cuties" controversy 
burned out after just a few days.
"How many times are we going to boycott Netflix, right? I thought that 
conservatives have already done this, like, six times. It just shows that 
it's all for likes and clicks," MAGA enforcer Laura Loomer tells Axios. 
"It's kind of absurd."
State of play: Still, there have been some instances where the right is 
able to harness outrage over a company or product and direct it into the 
successful creation of an alternative platform.

The Daily Wire has built a multimillion-dollar razor business after 
direct-to-consumer razor company Harry's Razors pulled its ads from the 
Daily Wire's "The Michael Knowles Show," citing "misaligned values."
Tucker Carlson and his media company co-founder Neil Patel launched a 
nicotine pouch product called ALP last year as a joint venture with 
Turning Point Brands, a publicly traded smoking accessories company.
TPB's share price has skyrocketed by more than 50% since ALP's launch 
announcement in November, reaching an all-time high last month.
MAGA has a similarly mixed bag when it comes to retail boycotts, but it 
was partially responsible for getting Cracker Barrel to bring back its old 
logo after changes sparked outrage among conservatives.

The big picture: MAGA's boycott push follows what conservatives believe to 
be yearslong efforts to censor their voices by mainstream media and Big 
Tech firms.

Nearly every major tech company deplatformed President Trump following the 
Jan. 6 Capitol raid in 2021. Many also banned prominent conservative 
influencers and accounts.
Over the past few years, conservatives have made a concerted effort to 
build their own right-wing economy to hedge against any left-leaning 
boycotts. But most Big Tech firms and large media brands are trying to 
exercise more caution now before implementing major bans.

https://www.axios.com/2025/10/21/maga-disney-plus-netflix-cancellation-
numbers