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How can you reconcile a problematic artist with their art?
How to process a questionable artist and their amazing art?
Before I start, this isn’t an article about ‘cancel culture,’ where celebrities are held somewhat accountable for at best making crappy comments, and at worst, doing horrible things. ‘Cancel culture,’ which I don’t really believe in, is a can of worms for another day.
People are people. Sometimes they seem like they would be a nightmare to work with or are rude and have opinions that do not align with mine. Depending on that opinion, I can continue to support the artist, but there’s a fine line. At least it gets me watching the drama in comment sections.
For example, I will not support anti-trans, racist or sexist work, even if it is a comedy, but at the same time, I don’t want to give it the attention or energy that these celebrities often want to generate through these comments or skits. If these sentiments are a part of their work — it won’t appeal to me. If these are opinions voiced outside of their work — I roll my eyes at their attempts to seem relevant. These celebrities have forgotten that you don’t need an opinion on everything to be relevant.
Problematic issues are not always black and white. Sometimes, it’s hard to tell if a show or film is a satire or just punching down. Sometimes, it seems vague…
