In society, there are certain principles one cannot violate. For example, if a person assaults someone in cold blood, other people usually see this individual as a violent person who should be avoided and punished for their actions. But how applicable are these rules to celebrities?
In recent years, with the #MeToo movement and problematic actions of celebrities in general, there has been a lot of controversy from fans on whether people should be held accountable for allegations against them, and if fans should continue supporting their work or not.
Bill Cosby is a prime example — after being convicted as a sex offender, people still debate whether it is acceptable to watch and enjoy “The Cosby Show” anymore. Additionally, R. Kelly, who, after being indicted on 21 counts of child pornography and has accusations of running a sex cult, is still celebrated for his music. The solution for those who continue to support the work is to “separate the artist from the art,” a phrase coined to separate the bad things celebrities have done for the sake of still enjoying their work.
Recently, the latest use of this phrase has revolved around a recording that has come out of XXXTentacion, a popular rapper who was shot and killed in June, and his confession to the abuse of his ex-girlfriend and the stabbing of eight people. The rapper already had several allegations of violence and abuse against him at the time of his death, each extremely controversial. These ranged from continuous domestic abuse of his ex-girlfriend to violent assaults against others. While some have argued that he had experienced a change in character since that occurred, others disagreed, arguing that XXXTentacion should not be celebrated.
What many have decided to do is separate XXXTentacion from his music, choosing to listen to his work while openly disagreeing with his controversial past. The question is — how ethical is it really to separate actors, artists and musicians from their work?
Even if one does not support an artist personally, continuing to stream, watch or buy their work — still counts as supporting them. Obviously, no one can really enjoy anything if they take into consideration every problematic thing that any celebrity has done, but separating the artist from the work should always take into account the severity of what that specific person has done.
For example, social media star Kelvin Peña (otherwise known as Brother Nature for his endearing videos with animals) has recently come under fire for insensitive tweets he posted in 2012. Because he was around 12 years old at the time, it’s not fair to hold Peña accountable for his actions now—everyone is immature during this age. Also, seeing that he’s about 20 years old today, he had plenty of time to change and even issued an apology for his actions.
This thought process, however, should not be applied to XXXTentacion, as he was old enough to understand the severity of what he was doing. He was 18 years old—a mature enough age to distinguish right from wrong.
Using the defense of separating the artist from the work desensitizes people to the things that person has done. XXXTentacion even admits in the tape that he had, “No tears on my face, no remorse.” Even if you enjoyed his work, you should admit that the tape is extremely insensitive and, quite frankly, disturbing to hear. Continuing to enjoy abusers’ work still allows them to benefit from you and validates what they have done in a way, and it is definitely a thought to be taken into consideration.
_Edited by Siena DeBolt | sdebolt@themaneater.com_
