{"id":45382,"date":"2024-12-18T09:27:21","date_gmt":"2024-12-18T13:27:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.knightcrier.org\/?p=45382"},"modified":"2024-12-18T10:49:29","modified_gmt":"2024-12-18T14:49:29","slug":"opinion-separating-the-art-from-the-artist-can-it-be-done","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.knightcrier.org\/opinion\/2024\/12\/18\/opinion-separating-the-art-from-the-artist-can-it-be-done\/","title":{"rendered":"OPINION: Separating the art from the artist: can it be done?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Personally, when someone praises a controversial artist for their work, one of the most annoyingly common things to hear is \u201cJust give them credit for their work.\u201d Has separating the art from the artist gone too far?<\/span><\/p>\n

Many of us have heard this saying before, but is it possible? Can you truly ignore an artist\u2019s controversial actions to enjoy their work? I believe that it is undebatable; you cannot truly separate the art from the artist.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One argument in favor of a scandalous artist is that you can listen to or appreciate their art without having any of the proceeds go to the artist. In my opinion, even if this is true, you are still promoting the artist and their actions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, rising country music star Zach Bryan has recently got in hot water after being exposed by internet personality and ex-girlfreind, Brianna LaPaglia. She recounted her relationship with the country singer on the <\/span>BFF\u2019s Podcast<\/span><\/a> that she co-hosts alongside Dave Portnoy and Josh Richardson.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

LaPaglia details the 12 million dollar Non-Disclosure Agreement she was offered by Bryan\u2019s management team, and why she decided to decline it, \u201cI would\u2019ve had to sign all of my experiences, everything that I am away to this person and they would\u2019ve been monitoring everything that I do.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Personally, this has made it hard to support Bryan\u2019s music career after listing to LaPaglia describe his actions during their time together. By continuing to listen to Bryan\u2019s music and attending his concerts, his actions are not being condemned, which they should be.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This brings up another very controversial artist, Kanye West. To keep it short and sweet, West has had conflicts with various public figures such as Taylor Swift, Drake, and even the mother to his kids, Kim Kardashian. Not only were his actions towards these celebrities disgusting and embarrassing, but he has made antisemitic comments on multiple occasions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, we have entered an era where racial hate is frowned upon and shameful, but influential figures like Kanye West are setting us back. His loyal fan base will claim anything in order to continue to support his music. To me, supporting an artist who openly agrees with Hitler is not acceptable.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

West has an influence on the younger generation and should be using this ability for the better of everyone. Instead, he chose to spread hate and antisemitism.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While there are so many musical artists that this could apply to, there are also other figures that make it difficult to separate their work from their actions. One person that sprang to my mind was the one and only Bill Cosby.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Me and my dad watched every single episode of the Cosby Show growing up, and even went to his stand up act. When it became public knowledge that he was on trial for sexual assault, it wasn\u2019t easy to give up the love I had for him. Yet, I will always believe and support victims that speak up against their abuser.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This caused me to no longer be a fan of Cosby, despite the laughter and memories he had brought to my household. There truly is no excuse for supporting an artist that has shown their true colors through their actions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Looking past someone\u2019s actions are only ignoring a victim\u2019s experience and story, and allowing a public figure to spew hate and disgust towards a minority group is not acceptable no matter what excuse any supporters give. Artists like West and Bryan are the perfect examples as to why I do not believe that it is possible to separate the art from the artist. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Personally, when someone praises a controversial artist for their work, one of the most annoyingly common things to hear is \u201cJust give them credit for their work.\u201d Has separating the art from the artist gone too far? Many of us have heard this saying before, but is it possible? Can you truly ignore an artist\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":45384,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,11],"tags":[],"staff_name":[1428],"class_list":["post-45382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","category-top-stories","staff_name-helene-schuler"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.knightcrier.org\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.knightcrier.org\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.knightcrier.org\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.knightcrier.org\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.knightcrier.org\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45382"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.knightcrier.org\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45382\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45406,"href":"https:\/\/www.knightcrier.org\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45382\/revisions\/45406"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.knightcrier.org\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.knightcrier.org\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.knightcrier.org\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.knightcrier.org\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45382"},{"taxonomy":"staff_name","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.knightcrier.org\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/staff_name?post=45382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}