It’s something I struggle with. Some bad news comes out about some public persona doing something shitty and they get cancelled. But sometimes I really struggle with giving up the things they’ve made because I like them. There are also occasions where the person has been accused of something and it doesn’t seem true to me, or I think they’re genuinely sorry and have been punished enough, and the context isn’t being considered.
What do you think? Who do you feel conflicted about enjoying?
Anti-Flag.
Absolutely sucks who Justin Sane turned out to be, but the music the group made together are still absolute bangers.
There is a line, I don’t have to love and agree with them on everything to enjoy an actor, but I refuse to support predators. Things like David Harbor cheating on his wife or the things people slammed Paul Reubens for I could really care less about, and I don’t give a fuck about their politics so long as they aren’t doing shit like J.K. Rowling and actively trying to ruin lives, however people like Diddy, Gaiman (whom I had personally loved for years), or Jared Leto can fuck off and die.
Louis CK. He was my favorite comedian, but the first special after ‘cancellation’ had all the hallmarks of a washed up has been with grievances. But he’s been back to his old form lately, and I still consider him the best comic of his generation.
Neil Gaiman. I’m afraid there won’t be a third season of Good Omens.
Removed by mod
It always gets me that Matthew Broderick killed two people in a car crash and got off with a $100 fine. I love Ferris Bueller’s day off, and I think he’s really talented, but like this happened just after that movie, and he just did not seem to be held to account for it.
Borns made some of the best indie pop on the radio, got in trouble for grooming, disappeared. One of the most heartbreaking losses musically for us. Then years later tried a comeback but seems to be an unrepentant whiny removed now, the song he released was so bad. It seems to have broken him.
I still think his early stuff is so good.
Ender’s Game is a great book, and I did keep my Neil Gaiman books, the ones I already have.
I think in general (obviously there are exceptions) broken people make the greatest art, it’s hard to have that drive when you don’t have some sadness inside you, dissatisfaction, some missing part you are trying to fill. And with old guys (not Garrett Borns) they did grow up in a different time - I don’t think that excuses them, but it does explain it. My mom thought Jerry Lee Lewis marrying his 14 year old cousin was scandalous but wouldn’t have thought it criminal or really wrong.
Al Franken
It’s a struggle sometimes, but I think it’s the only real control we have.
It’s a case by case basis for me. Some actor being in a movie I like isn’t a big deal to me, but when someone has like huge creative control over something it’s like a visceral repulsion to me. I don’t want to take a piece of media into my experience with the subtext that the author touches kids or something. It’s not even just that I know these people do bad things, it’s that personal views shape how people make stories etc, and I’m not fond of putting that into my psyche. If they do some fucked up shit in the book, I want to be able to know it’s because this character is evil, not because the author is saying this is a normal healthy thing to do.
RHCP sucks because I think it’s pretty good music, and I was really into them when I was a teen, but given everything I know about them now it makes it impossible to enjoy their stuff now.
This is going to get buried, but I miss Bill Cosby, or rather my mental model of him before all that nastiness came out.
it will be hard pressed for me to enjoy something if the artist/actor got cancelled.
asian ytubers i used to enjoy, i think thier content is funny, but after they became covid denying, magaty, women hating(whole drama that started all this), they were dropped like a rock by most of thier fans, only the aprasocial groupies, and incels are left, the last time i visited the sub.
R. Kelly’s music slaps.
Also he wrote & produced for damn near the whole industry, so the tree of artists you would have to dodge to not listen to his work is staggering.
Ricky Gervais and Norm MacDonald engage/ed in transbaiting. Which is not cool, okay, or acceptable. But they are geniuses I can’t turn my back on.
Doug TenNapel.
Dude is a level 10 bastard. But Earthworm Jim was very influential to me as a kid.
The characters and the sense of humor; It just spoke to me in a weird and powerful way.
The games, the comics, even the short lived cartoon show was not too shabby.
Ga-roovy!
Neil Gaiman. I’m extremely depressed that he’s actually a POS, and because I loved his work so much, I’m conflicted. His work itself seemed to have well interrogated values woven into it’s fiber, but I guess you never can tell.
Edit: really fucking bummed about Red Hot Chili Peppers too
This broke my damn heart. His work seemed to have the values I hold dear and be so insightful and then… he’s getting in the bath with girls who depend on him for housing.
I am thinking that power corrupts. I came up with that but you can use that phrase if you want.
Same with his ex? Wife Amanda Palmer. I love the Dresden Dolls and she’s been very inspirational but knowing she was in on it was fucked up.
man, this was the worst. but he’s not getting another dollar from me, the bastard. at least he’s not fighting Terry Pratchett’s estate over Good Omens.
speaking of which, Terry seems to have been just a great guy and was better than Neil anyway. It’s really helped me to let Neil go.
Helllll yeah! Terry Pratchett, but also I’m keeping ALL celebrity at arms length without heavy vetting at this point
Pretty sure the Anthony Keides stuff was well known for decades. It’s in his autobiography that was published like 20 years ago or something.
He’s always been the worst part of that band
It has been! That’s why it’s even more fucking disgusting to me. It isn’t well known or talked about, fucking bastards just get a fucking pass sometimes and I hate it
I have a theory that all writers are somewhat hypocritical. As an amateur writer myself (I write fan fiction and am also working on original work I hope to get published eventually), I find sometimes the moral messages I try to weave into my work are sometimes messages that I myself am struggling to live up to and writing is a way of trying to work through that
I remember the moment news broke out, that I just got rid of all books he authored. The Sandman graphic novels, Coraline, American Gods, Stardust .etc
All I was looking forward to reading someday but nope.
I haven’t gotten rid of mine but they’re all stowed away in a corner.
If you had donated them, to a thrift store or maybe a library, it would’ve kept someone else from buying a new copy, which would give him money.
That’s what I’m struggling with. Throwing his content in the trash regardless of content 😩 I got sandman 1 omnibus for Christmas last year, ughhhhhh
If you want to feel better about ditching things, just donate them.
kiedis from scar tissue? or is there something new i missed?
Yeah, his memoir or whatever details him knowingly committing statutory of a 14 yo girl.
