...and hello, it's me, Rob.

Hey, Rob, you look a bit fed up.

I am. I had tickets to see Roy's Rolling Biscuits next week - but now the gig has been cancelled.

Cancelled - meaning a planned activity will now not happen.

Well, lots of things have been cancelled at the moment.

But this was 'The Biscuits', you know, the best band ever!

Well, Rob, to be honest, I cancelled them a long time ago.

What?! You had tickets and you cancelled them?

No, Rob. This is another meaning of 'cancelled'.

I didn't like the bad language in the band's songs so I stopped supporting them - I 'cancelled' them.

Oh!

Yep. When you cancel someone, you don't agree with what they do or say, and you stop supporting or promoting them.

This particularly relates to celebrities.

So if you don't like someone, cancel them!

OK, Feifei. Let's hear some examples.

I was a big supporter of our local mayor until he agreed to build the by-pass.

I've cancelled him now.

My favourite singer started singing anti-climate change songs.

She's cancelled as far as I'm concerned!

'Cancel culture' means we can shame celebrities on social media when they have controversial opinions.

This is The English We Speak from BBC Learning English, and we're talking about a new meaning to the word 'cancelled'.

Cancelling someone means to stop supporting or following someone, particularly a public figure, because of something they have said or done.

It's also known as a 'cancel culture'.

So, you've cancelled supporting Roy's Rolling Biscuits, and my gig has been cancelled.

So what am I going to do now?

Hmmm... what about trying to get tickets for that other band you like?

The Bananas? No, no, I'm cancelling them because their tickets are always too expensive.

Oh dear, Rob. It looks like you'll be having a quiet night in. Bye.

What are you doing tonight, Feifei? Bye.