Separating art from its artist is harmful; Fans willingly stay ignorant, take no accountability

Imagine you have a friend who is being bullied. They may be attacked  for their race, religion, gender identity, a disability, or something else. You try to help them out since you don’t want to see them being harassed for such a dumb reason. Then, you go home and listen to your favorite song, whose creator just so happens to share those same opinions as your friend’s bullies. It’s okay, right? You don’t really agree with the person, but you just have to listen to their music. Just ignore the artist and enjoy the content.

     The described situation is far more complex than that.

     Separating the art from its artist does more damage and occurs more often than one may think. For example, fans of Harry Potter have been forced into the hot seat by author J.K. Rowling, who stunned many in 2020 when she proclaimed her transphobia on Twitter. Now, this isn’t the first time Rowling has faced backlash; from directly including the most stereotypical characters in her books (i.e., the greedy bank tellers that match up almost perfectly with harmful Jewish stereotypes) to plain old poorly-named characters (Cho Chang, a Ravenclaw girl who’s name is made up of two Asian last names, and Kingsley Shacklebolt, the only Black character in the series, who’s last name clearly alludes to slavery), the author is no stranger to being called out for being problematic. However, some choose to ignore these issues simply because Harry Potter brings them a sense of nostalgia.

     Now, that is understandable to a degree. When something has been such a huge part of your life for so long, it’s hard to let it go, especially since the Harry Potter fandom is exceptionally large. According to Pottermore, the fanbase of the series about wizards and witches totals to about “500 million people,” which means about one in 15 people in the world own at least one Harry Potter book (AltPress). Finding comfort and solace in something from your childhood is perfectly fine. However, simply dismissing the fact that someone is discriminatory and ignorant just because you like their content is, in fact, an act of ignorance.

     To merely separate the art from the artist is to turn a blind eye to someone’s harmful behavior. As said by writer Melina List, “Pretending that the ideals of the creator can be removed from their creation isn’t doing anything productive: it’s making yourself feel better about liking something that, like all human creations, has the potential for flaws while ignoring that fact simultaneously” (Medium). 

     Of course, it’s hard to digest the fact that an artist you like is harming people, and it’s very hard to stop liking something that you’ve loved for years. However, you cannot just push problematic behaviors to the side without acknowledging them; accountability needs to be taken in some way. According to Commonwealth Times, “The truth is that we need to be honest with ourselves about whether our connection to a controversial artist’s work is greater than the gravity of the things they’ve done. Instead of avoiding these uncomfortable truths, we should face them head-on.”

     So, this isn’t to say that you must immediately stop reading your favorite books, or stop listening to your favorite songs, or stop watching your favorite movies because of someone’s actions. If that’s what you take away from this editorial, then you should read it again. The point is, acknowledging the fact that a public figure you love may not be such a great person is better than shrugging off a person’s clear insensitivity.