by 106-2 » Tue Jan 12, 2016 1:41 pm
I've had this same conversation with multiple people regarding Bowie, and I don't really know where I stand on it. The position I guess I've previously taken is that it has to do with how recently the incident took place, and whether or not I could be seen to be sweeping their actions under the rug by listening to/watching/reading their work. Having now written this down though, I realise that this is ridiculous, and is a pretty dumb way to treat the issue (especially given that most current artists who have been found to be "problematic" in one way or another aren't/weren't making work I'm interested in anyway eg. Chris Brown or Ian Watkins of lostprophets).
I'd like to think that you can enjoy someone's work without by extension being seen to be allowing/condoning their behaviour, but at the same time I'm fully aware that if an artist is profiting from you consuming something they've made (as is the case with streaming/buying music or film etc.) that you are, almost by definition, supporting them to some degree. Because of that, I suppose that in that sense the artist and their actions outside of their work are inseparable.
Interested to see what others will say, as this has actually bothered me for a while with regards to the homophobic/misogynistic language used in a lot of 80s/90s hiphop.