Since 2016, the online culture of “canceling” celebrities has been on the rise. Popular names like Ellen DeGeneres, Shane Dawson, Jeffree Star and Jimmy Fallon have been called out this year for controversies. The latest name added to the list of canceled 2020 celebs was Chris Pratt, known for his roles in “Parks and Recreation,” Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” saga, “Passengers” and “Jurassic World.”

Pratt was voted “Worst Hollywood Chris’’ on a fan-made Twitter poll, which compared him to Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth and Chris Pine. It was concluded that these results were due to his possible conservative political views and membership of a church believed to be anti-LGBTQ+ in California. He also made public comments about hunting and was accused of animal abuse after giving up his 15-year-old cat. He was a part of filming scandals, including making his “Parks and Recreation” co-stars uncomfortable by publicly exposing himself during filming. Shortly after this, many of his fellow cast members from the Marvel films rushed to his side, posting supportive messages and calling out those who attempted to “cancel” the 41-year old actor. Mark Ruffalo tweeted, “[Pratt] is as solid a man there is. I know him personally, and instead of casting aspersions, look at how he lives his life. He is just not overtly political as a rule. This is a distraction.” Zoe Saldana posted a supportive Instagram post saying “You got this. Your family, friends, colleagues & everyone who’s ever crossed paths with you knows your heart and your worth!” Many fans are finding this hypocritical and upsetting since other members of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) team, like Brie Larson, Anthony Mackie, Zendaya and the late Chadwick Boseman, were attacked by so-called fans. Why should Pratt be protected over these other actors?

In 2019, award-winning actress Brie Larson, who played Captain Marvel in several MCU movies, was attacked online because of her opinions on sexism in the movie industry. She was treated terribly by fans, since she criticized the MCU and the film industry as a whole. Some topics she brought up were the lack of diversity and LGBTQ+ representation. Her most infamous comments were toward the white male film critics who were reviewing the “Captain Marvel” movie. The only MCU actor that came to her support when the Internet was ripping her apart was Don Cheadle, known for his role as James Rhodes/War Machine in the “Iron Man” movies. In his last public appearances before his death, Chadwick Boseman, the famous “Black Panther” actor, seemed to look thinner and weaker due to his illness. Long before it was revealed that he was very sick, online trolls made fun of him for his appearance changes. They made disgusting and racist comments like calling him “Crack Panther” while shaming him for his weight and hair loss. Even after his passing, none of his MCU castmates called out these fake fans for their body-shaming behavior to show support for him. They all offered condolences, but no one defended him when he was being harassed for his body changes.

In continuation, when Zendaya was cast to portray “MJ” in the Tom Holland “Spider-Man” movies, she was harassed for not being “comic book accurate” since she wasn’t white. Zendaya is well known and extremely talented, so it was shocking that she was not defended by her new castmates after the character reveal. Similarly, when it was announced that Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson/The Falcon would be taking over as the new Captain America, he was discriminated against by MCU fans since he was a Black man. Although this transition actually did happen in the Marvel comics, people were still nasty and rude to Mackie. Not even Chris Evans, the former Captain America, publicly reached out to support his friend and successor. Where was the supportive energy for the MCU cast then? It seems gutless to break your silence over a Twitter poll when your fellow actors were bullied on social media through racism, sexism and body-shaming.

Overall, the MCU actors should be called out for this behavior and they should apologize to their co-workers who have suffered in silence instead of getting riled up over fans attacking Chris Pratt. In comparison to his co-workers who were also harassed, he is the most guilty. It has been proven time and time again that he is problematic and he does not deserve to be defended while others are left to the wolves.

Nicolette Cavallaro is a sophomore majoring in integrative neuroscience.