Opinion by CoventryThompson

Finding out your favorite music artist, author or actor has said problematic statements, infused harmful messages or stereotypes in their work or has even committed a crime can be a hard experience. Not just because many people look up to those whose work they enjoy, but because they are unsure of whether they should continue to consume that individual’s work. 

The issue of whether one can continue to consume media made by a problematic person has been discussed constantly over the last few years. Some argue that supporting someone’s art is inherently supporting them as a person, while others believe that art and the artist can be separated with no issues. 

The right answer is more nuanced than one extreme or the other. One’s enjoyment of a piece of media should not depend solely on the actions of the artist who created it. However, it is important to remember that an artist often subtly infuses their views into their work. It is important to engage in things that challenge you and allow you to analyze your own views, but if there are hateful and prejudiced messages in the artist’s work, it is important to acknowledge that.

Another factor to consider is if by supporting an artist’s work you are contributes financially to the artist. Obviously, if the artist is no longer alive, this is not a factor, and buying their books or streaming their music won’t contribute to the artist. However, if they are still living it becomes more complicated. 

Some people feel that their choice not to buy an artist’s work will not have much effect since others will continue to buy their work anyway. If you feel that the artist is problematic enough that you don’t want to support them, you should not be contributing to them financially. It is easy enough to find other ways to enjoy their work, such as public libraries, music videos on YouTube that don’t contribute money to the artist and other ways that either don’t give the artist more money or reduce the amount of money they receive. 

Celebrity stan culture in general has led to black and white thinking when it comes to supporting artists and celebririties. Many will support an artist regardless of how many bad things they have done. While others will look for the smallest reasons to “cancel” an artist or insist that people stop supporting them. 

It is important to consider the views of others, but it is also important to use your best judgment. Art is complex, and it is meant to challenge audiences. Avoiding certain media because the opinions of the artist differ from yours is no reason to avoid something entirely, as it is important to break out of your own echo chamber every once in a while. It is important to note that prejudiced and hateful views are not the same as just having a different opinion. 

The act of separating the art from the artist is not as simple as it may seem, but examining art made by problematic people is important and can even lead to a chance to educate yourself and others on why certain messages, statements and actions are wrong and lead to harm.