Sure, he made Graduation. But why should that matter?
The social media era has made it increasingly difficult for famous people to sweep their dirt under the rug. Being at the top of your game means nothing to the average twitter user. Being “canceled” was much less common before social media. I don’t think this is because people are more sensitive now. Rather, it used to be much harder to get the story straight. Having dirt on celebrities used to be an “if you know you know” situation. I grew up hearing my mom's stories about R. Kelly long before Lifetime documentaries and Gayle King interviews.
Lately, there has been a lot of chatter about separating the art from the artist. This debate has always seemed pointless to me. Much like real life courts, people are too biased to handle these arguments with nuance. Asking someone if they believe in separating art from artist is stupid because the court of public opinion has shown repeatedly that they can not do that. Humans are hedonistic creatures. Suffering typically only affects us when the consequences are impossible to ignore. We want to feel good and protect the people that make us feel good. You are exempt from morality as long as you can create enough pleasure for enough people. Your wrongdoings shall be defended, excused, or downright ignored in favor of your personality, accolades, or political stance.
There is a big difference between celebrities then and celebrities now. The internet has made it easier than ever to have access to a person's life. (That time someone found a baby picture of Justin Bieber that he’d never seen before)
It seems, the more intimate a person's content, the more the internet fawns over it. (Twitch streamers and family bloggers) Defending your favorite celebrity used to be about protecting their metrics from scrutiny. (Think barbershop goat conversations) Deep down, though, everyone was aware that none of us know these people. Now…you think you do.
When actors or athletes are revealed to be rapists, abusers, or racists, you can always count on a mass of people rushing to defend them; rather than acknowledging the people (women) they’ve hurt, or holding them accountable for the harm they did. Defending the actions of Ye or Tyreek Hill is no longer a heated statistical debate. Instead, it’s a dismissal of marginalized groups and perpetuates a cycle of re-victimization on a societal scale.
Finding proof of a non-Black influencer saying the n word is very common. The excuse that I’m sick of hearing is “people change; he was young; she was just a kid”. I was 5 the first time I understood what racism truly was. That group of teenage boys were also “just kids”. But so was I. Black people shouldn’t have to shoulder the burdens of your emotional development.
When Megan thee Stallion was shot, instead of being rallied around and supported, she was ridiculed and scrutinized. ( I will not tolerate a word of opposition to this statement.) Women are consistently educated on how to be better victims. Trying to warn a woman in a dangerous situation is considered jealousy. Man's greatest trick? Convincing women to do the dirty work for him.
In these times, any attention is good attention. So the platform we give despicable people is increasingly sinister. Misogyny and racism are being perpetuated by proxy. Sure, your friend may not say the n-word, but seeing Morgan Wallen on their top 5 every Spotify Wrapped is disconcerting.
Look, I get it. I hum Homecoming every time I land in Midway. But for me, it’s important to consistently be reevaluating the platforms we put any public figures on. Lest we allow irrelevant public personas to degrade true human connections.
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