Neil Gaiman: Three Women Accuse Author of Sexual Assault

sgibson5150@slrpnk.net to News@lemmy.world – 216 points – Neil Gaiman: Three Women Accuse Author of Sexual Assault
rollingstone.com

Following initial investigation in July, three more women come forward, including one who signed NDA following her experience with author

Edit: Not sure why the link abstract says two. The article clearly says three.

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I don't enjoy supporting the artist even if the art is good and don't buy into this argument. If you support the art, the artist is still making money off of it. Unless they are dead I guess....

What is this?

A gentle nudge towards, let's say, alternative means of acquiring media to enjoy. One that, ironically enough, Neil Gaiman commended himself (under certain circumstances, of course). One that is still better than giving money to someone you don't want to support as a person or a creator.

Ahh gotcha. I thought that somehow the artist had been controversial and that this was an example of separating the art from the artist or something. I was thinking in the wrong direction, thanks.

It's possible to enjoy the art without giving material support or publicity.

But do you have to?

For me, knowing that the artist is a terrible person ruins the art for me, or at least compromises it to the point where I don't feel comfortable in my skin continuing to peruse it. And that even if I wouldn't be buying anything new or otherwise be giving the artist money.

Take as an example Jon Schaffer, head of metal bad Iced Earth, which I liked quite a bit in the past. Later it became clear that he is at least problematic, and once he was identified as having participated in the January 6 riots, that was the end of it. I still own older Iced Earth CDs, but I can't listen to them any more.

Or Joss Whedon, whose work I used to love, and I own a lot of DVDs of his stuff. But watching it now knowing what he's done particularly to many women he worked with just seriously hinders my enjoyment of what I once really liked.

I agree, sometimes what you know about the artist can change how you experience it so that it is no longer appealing. That's a legitimate reaction too. If philosophy is art we had this situation with Martin Heidegger, who was quite a brilliant thinker but also, at least for part of his life, a committed Nazi. It's not really possible to read him now without that fact colouring the experience.