Photo Courtesy of Rodin Eckenroth via Getty Images
The phrase “separating the art from the artists” is commonly used when something egregious is said or done by a public figure. The phrase means that the individual’s art doesn’t necessarily reflect their views. Kanye West has recently been subject to this, with the star’s antisemitic comments still at the forefront of people’s minds.
How can fans justify listening to his music after his blatant attack on Jewish people? Fans refer to the aforementioned phrase, which distances the artists’ views from the artists themselves, but does that truly justify their actions? Fans still allow these artists to have a platform and support them fiscally, allowing for few repercussions.
West is a recent example, seeing as he still has a platform. Granted, he lost his deal with Adidas and had his merchandise removed from GAP stores.
However, despite his expression of hate speech, his music will remain on platforms such as Spotify, YouTube and Apple Music. His social media, while restricted, is still online. His Instagram remains open for all to see, with posts attacking abortion rights, supporting Kyrie Irving’s antisemitic tweets and defending his own antisemitic tweets.
Allowing West to have this platform lets him continue to spread hate to his supporters with little to no accountability.
Even after his comments, his Twitter remains unbanned. It was merely restricted, meaning that he can’t post any new tweets, but all of his previously posted tweets remain online. So, without pushback, these stars can do whatever they’d like.
Morgan Wallen is another artist who has been in hot water after the country star was heard saying the N-word in a leaked video. He was subsequently dropped from his record label because of the incident, but that did nothing for his album sales.
After the incident, Wallen’s “Dangerous: The Double Album” topped the Billboard 200 charts for four straight weeks, and his sales increased by 1,220%.
Despite his transgression toward the Black community, fans are still buying his albums and supporting his music. This excuses his actions as fans still fiscally support him after his wrongdoings, allowing him to maintain a platform and career without consequences.
Mel Gibson has maintained a career after getting caught up in an antisemitism incident during a DUI. Gibson was quoted saying “F*****g Jews … The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.” Gibson then asked the deputy, “Are you a Jew?”
The backlash from this incident was merely the cancellation of a Holocaust mini-series which his production company was involved in. Gibson has gone on to direct and star in films such as “Hacksaw Ridge” and “Father Stu” with almost no acknowledgment.
When questioned by fans, Gibson said he felt “annoyed” when critics reference his 2006 antisemitic tirade and said that it was “unfair” that he was classified as prejudiced. People continue to support a man who attacked a minority group and feels annoyed when the incident is brought up.
Separating the artist from their art allows them to stay in the spotlight while undergoing minimal criticism or repercussions, if any.
Continuing to support these artists excuses what they’ve done without forcing them into taking accountability for their actions. Real people have gotten hurt because of these actions and merely brushing them off is why this is an issue.
Society must work to better these artists, so these situations don’t occur, rather than force a half-hearted Notes app apology on social media.
