Last week, I saw someone retweet a story about Mel Gibson making anti-Semitic remarks toward Winona Ryder and this person asked something along the lines of, “How was Mel Gibson nominated for Best Director only three years ago?” I merely replied that this occurred because the Academy deemed that his film, Hacksaw Ridge, was one of the best of the year and his directorial effort was among the best as well. It was not an award for the most polite person of the year. It’s pretty well-documented that Mel Gibson is an ass, but studios still hire him. No matter how much I may find his views reprehensible, he has the right to earn a living.
In life, you’re going to disagree with a lot of people. There’s also a good chance that you will like something that was created by a person with a checkered past. If you try to rid yourself of all of these things due to their “problematic” nature, you will find it very difficult to enjoy things. The easy fix? Compartmentalize things in your life. Simply acknowledge that Person X has done or said things you fundamentally disagree with or condemn, but they have created or taken part in the creation of art that you like. Separate the art from the artist.
J.K. Rowling
Last month, J.K. Rowling made headlines with her comments about transgender people. This came about six months after Rowling tweeted her support for a British woman, Maya Forstater, who lost her job due to her prejudicial comments about transgender people, as ruled by the court in her employment tribunal case. After experiencing backlash on Twitter, Rowling doubled down on her comments when she published a 3,600 word essay on her site responding to the criticism. A lot of the “backlash” on Twitter was from hurt Harry Potter fans who tried to call Rowling a hypocrite for not being accepting of transgender people even though she wrote a series of books about accepting oneself for who they are, and that Hogwarts was this very inclusive place (when it really wasn’t).
I didn’t really care what J.K. Rowling thought. Her beliefs are her own and she already got her billions of dollars from those Harry Potter fans. I still love those books and those movies. Nothing is going to change that. Could it affect future Harry Potter-related releases? Eh, probably not. She’s still writing the next Fantastic Beasts movie which will make hundreds of millions of dollars.
Louis CK
Louis CK was my favorite comedian as he put together a legendary string of specials with Chewed Up, Hilarious, Live at the Beacon Theater, and Oh My God. His show, Louie, was a favorite of mine until it got too artsy-fartsy. After 2015, Louis CK kind of faded to the background as I started to gravitate more toward Bill Burr, John Mulaney, Bo Burnham (for the second time), and Dave Chappelle. I still kept up with his career (through YouTube), but his specials weren’t appointment viewing anymore. Then, in 2017, sexual harassment allegations from multiple women surfaced and CK confessed. It definitely shocked me and made me think about how I viewed his comedy. It was a few months before I listened to his stand-up again. And guess what? I still laughed at a lot of his jokes because I found his humor funny. He’s still a scumbag for what he did.
Harvey Weinstein
Nothing is redeemable about what Weinstein did. He systematically preyed on vulnerable women and threatened their livelihoods if they did not acquiesce to his demands. Weinstein is currently serving 23 years in prison after being convicted of first degree sexual assault and third degree rape. Weinstein produced some of my favorite films including Pulp Fiction, Silver Linings Playbook, and The Aviator, but I don’t see or think about Weinstein when I watch those films. I’m just thinking about the stories being told or the hundreds of people that worked hard to make those films happen.
So, if someone is shunned like Louis CK was, when is it ok for them to come back? When have they paid their penance to society? Louis CK has come back and performed, but some critics have said he wasn’t gone long enough or that he should never return to comedy. It’s clear that no one will finance another CK special, tv show, or movie, but should he not be allowed to earn a living in comedy clubs if there is an audience that wants to pay to see him? I wouldn’t pay to go see him perform. Ultimately, it's up to the masses to determine if Louis CK will continue to have a comedy career.
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