IS IT OK TO LIKE MUSIC BY BAD PEOPLE? - a report

Is it ok to like music by bad people?

(photo from https://www.rollingstone.com)

John Lennon was a horrible person yet I still listen to The Beatles because I love their music, but I don't listen to XXXtentation because he was an awful human being. I find it easy to hate bad people like XXX because as well a being bad person he made bad music. I preach against artists like this, recently I started my campaign against Drake after hearing his stupid comments about young girls and his creepy young girlfriend but did I just choose him because I already don't like his music? I  didn't stop listening to Elvis after watching the documentary on him and finding out about his obsession with underage girls because I see him as such an amazing artist. I feel like I need to deconstruct my whole separating art from artist theory, do I make exceptions for my preferred artists? Does everyone?

For some people it is easy to separate art from artists, it's easy to ignore the bad things artists involve themselves in because of their successes. For me it's difficult, I don't want to appear to be supporting someone who has said or done awful things that I don't believe in. The way I see it is, if someone in my life had hit their girlfriend I would cut them out of my life, yet if a celebrity does the same they seem to get a free pass due to their art.

After heat from GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Deformation) who have massive influence in Hollywood, the Oscars have revoked any nominations involving the Queen bio-pic 'Bohemian Rhapsody' due to alleged misconduct by the director Brian Singer, this is a prime example of conflating art and artist. Singer is having his successes damned due to his alleged awful acts and it's all being done by a massive name, the Oscars none the less. Should this be prompting other people to do the same?

But what does it mean to support an artist? Is just listening to a song online every now and again supporting them? Is it buying the album? It's different for different people which is why this topic is such a personal one, I enjoyed 'Bohemian Rhapsody' and I'm not going to change my mind after hearing about the director committing awful crimes. That voice is easy for me though, I love Queen and I think the movie was beautiful, that isn't shadowed by the news of the director but others may boycott the film, it's all personal.

Is separating art from artist necessary? Listening to music, watching a film, enjoying art doesn't have to mean directly endorsing the creator of these things. Is this just because the creators are celebrities who are thrown into the eye of the media? We're told to idolise celebrities so when they do wrong their mistakes are amplified, obviously the crimes of some celebrities are unforgivable but do we then effectively erase them from history by boycotting their art?

Through writing this I have come to the conclusion that just because you support someones art doesn't mean you have to support their actions. You have to be aware that money you spend to enjoy their art is going to reach them but you don't have to feel bad for enjoying it. You have to acknowledge their wrong doings and know that they're wrong, but you can listen to what you want to listen to or watch what you want to watch. Everyone has the right to their own opinion on the subject, if you don't want to listen to a song because the person who sings it is an awful human, no one is forcing you to, but if someone else likes that same song that's their business. For me, separating the art from the artist is ok as long as you still recognise what the artist may have done; in the same way an artist can be a lovely person and still make bad music, you can like them as a person and not like their music.

Everyone can think what they want to think about the topic. Art is subjective but artists actions are not.