Can I separate the art from the artist?

Tw: r*pe and ab*se

Hi, let's get uncomfortable. Today I wanted to talk about an issue that I personally struggle with a lot, and I know a lot of music fans do too. It's the issue of whether or not we can separate the art from the artist.

Separating the art from the artist entails a lot of ambiguous boundaries. To what extent can I still support an artist who's been doxed for problematic or abusive behaviors? Does it make me a bad person if I still enjoy their music? I certainly don't think it's an issue as cut-and-dry as completely ceasing to listen to every single artist who's done anything wrong ever. We all know it's not as easy as that. To me, it's a matter of discretion, and putting ourselves in other peoples' shoes -- whether that be an artist who's trying to improve themselves from past behaviors, or a victim of an artist's abuse.

There are definitely artists that I cannot support in any way whatsoever because of how horrible their actions have been, and the fact that they've shown no remorse for said actions. The first person that comes to mind for me is XXXTentacion. I've gotten into some heated arguments over him, and I'll be honest -- I don't feel a bit sorry for the guy. If you aren't aware of who this is or what he did, you can read all about his abusive history on Pitchfork. A recently released voice recording revealed the rapper telling of his abusive exploits to his friends, where he says "I started f*cking her up because she made one mistake. Now she's scared. That girl is scared for her life." I won't go into the gruesome details of what X did to his girlfriend, but I do encourage you to research it for yourself to see how demented he was. It's clear that he showed no regret toward his actions, and I see no reason to support such an awful human being, even if he was shot and killed.

I think for me and many others, it's a lot easier to completely write off an artist when their actions are so horrible, or if we weren't a huge fan of their music in the first place. So what about behaviors that are less overtly horrific? What about our favorite artists -- what do we do when they've been exposed for abusive behaviors?

I could go on and on with artists past and present who've been known for sexually inappropriate, abusive, and/or otherwise problematic behaviors. John Lennon was a massive abusive douchebag to women. David Bowie slept with 13-year-olds as a grown man. Garrett Borns (aka BØRNS) was recently accused of sexual misconduct by several women. Brand New frontman Jesse Lacey had allegations brought against him in 2017 for predatory behavior. Over the past year or so, I've seen post after post on social media saying "Don't support this artist, they abused me."

So, here's my take. When people give these testimonies against musicians, believe them. Consider the trauma they've been through after being r*ped or ab*sed by a musician they previously admired.

BUT.

There are many musicians that have displayed terrible behaviors in the past, and have since apologized, changed themselves, and done everything in their ability to make things right, NOT to ease their conscience, but because it was the right thing to do...and many artists who've chosen not to acknowledge those behaviors, which is obviously not okay. To clarify, I will never support rapists or abusers, and I believe we should always believe victims.

Needless to say, I don't forget about these behaviors. The music industry has a lot of problematic mindsets especially when it comes to the way women are treated -- but that's an issue for another day.

So, can you still listen to these artists? Honestly, I think it's all a matter of personal discretion. Many bands have chosen to get rid of members who've been exposed for ongoing problematic behaviors and/or abuse, so I obviously still support those bands. But when it comes to artists like Lennon or Bowie, I don't support them as individuals. I like to think of it this way: If they were alive now, would I be spending my time with them knowing they did those things? Absolutely not. Do I still enjoy their music? Yes.

I firmly believe that you can enjoy an artist's music without endorsing them as individuals, but there are plenty of people who would disagree, and I respect that. There are a lot of other factors that I don't have time to get into, but as I said before, it's a huge matter of discretion. If anything, I believe it's vitally important to expose musicians if they have been abusive and for their bands to immediately sever ties with them.

So yeah, that's my humble opinion on that issue. Feel free to comment your take on this issue. All opinions are valued and respected.