If we disregarded everything created by someone who didn't measure up to today's standards of behavior, we'd find ourselves living in caves trying to figure out whether rocks are edible.
At the same time, I don't want to financially support anybody currently in the business who is a piece of scum. I wouldn't pay a nickel to see Harvey Weinstein's next movie, no matter how good I heard it was. (but I might download it from Pirate Bay, maybe...)
I've probably mentioned Ted Nugent before. The Nuge might be a deranged crazy-person and a loathesome person, but I still have Stranglehold on one of my playlists and listen to it pretty often. It's not hard to separate the song from the singer, in that instance at least. On the other hand I'm not sure I could watch a Cosby Show rerun and see Bill Cosby as "Dr Huxtable" instead of as the creepy sex abuser. Harder to separate the TV character from Bill and his misdeeds when his face is right there in front of you.
I guess I'm veering off into a separate question. The author talks about stealing as a way of appreciating important art without rewarding creators who are awful people. And I'm wondering whether having this information about the artist ruins your enjoyment of the art. In the case of Bill Cosby, yes... I don't think I could watch Bill Cosby without thinking of young women and Quaaludes.
There is a Judas Priest song called "Out in the Cold" that I always liked, but it took on increased meaning for me when I learned that the singer Rob Halford was struggling with leading a secret gay life while trying to maintain this image of a heavy metal tough-guy. After learning that, "Out in the Cold" seemed like it was about something completely different.
-k
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