‘The Office’ star Rainn Wilson says cancel culture killed TV comedy

Rainn Wilson, known for his role as Dwight Schrute on the popular sitcom “The Office,” says partisan hypocrisy on both sides of the political aisle fuels divisions in America and argues that cancel culture is stifling today’s comedy.

Wilson told Fox News Digital that cancel culture as a result of growing political divisions has harmed the ability of comedy on a show like “The Office” to thrive and be acceptable in today’s society.

“I don’t think you can come to The Office today,” Wilson said. “I think it would be too difficult to be as politically incorrect as the show. And I kind of miss that.”

He explained that although both his character and his actor Steve Carell’s role as Michael Scott were deliberately portrayed as lacking “self-awareness” and lacking in “meme,” humor is still not fleeting or considered socially acceptable in today’s society.

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““We’ve used it for a lot of really cool, really inappropriate things,” Wilson said. “But despite the fact that you portrayed that character as just a fool, I don’t think you can get away with that today.”

Comedy aside, Wilson said one of the biggest drivers of America’s political dysfunction is what he calls partisan hypocrisy, with both Republicans and Democrats quick to condemn the other party’s misconduct while ignoring similar behavior on their own side.

Wilson used Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner’s response to a growing list of scandals throughout his campaign as an example, citing the reaction to a Nazi tattoo in particular as racial or religious discrimination.

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Graham Platner, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine, points to a covered tattoo previously considered a Nazi symbol during an interview in Portland, Maine, on October 22, 2025. (WGME via AP)

“The political right is alarmed, saying, ‘Oh, he’s a racist, look,’” Wilson explained. “But when people show racist tendencies or say racist things, they don’t look at their own side. It’s the same on the left. They’re willing to ignore the Platner Nazi tattoo, but if someone on the other side had a questionable tattoo, they’d be all over MSNBC reporting about it.”

“What strikes me the most is the hypocrisy. The hypocrisy that both parties should have some sort of equal standards of behavior.”

Despite his concerns about political division, Wilson argued that faith and spirituality remain one of the country’s most overlooked sources of common ground.

“There is no subject that has more commonality and reciprocity than spiritual ideas,” Wilson said.

“Ideas about spirituality have been sort of weaponized in terms of the national debate, but the two sides actually have more in common than you might think.”

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Rainn Wilson speaks at a Capitol Hill press conference in Washington, DC, as part of an effort to encourage dialogue across political and ideological divides. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)

Wilson made the statement with Reps. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla. and did so while on Capitol Hill with religious leaders. A Joint Effort: Realizing America’s Promise, A five-part letter sponsored by leaders of the Baha’i faith that seeks to eliminate political polarization and focus on common American values.

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“Partisan division, toxic partisanship, and the corruption of partisanship is something that the American people are very passionate about,” Wilson said.

“The people want this to be fixed. There is a reaction from the people. They want it to be fixed.”