# Do you want to know about the political/religious leanings of artists you like? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 24, 2010, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-to-know-about-the-political-religious-leanings-of-artists-you-like/537231 "2010-04-24T18:40:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-to-know-about-the-political-religious-leanings-of-artists-you-like/537231/1 "2010-04-24T18:40:00Z")
For purposes of this poll, _artists_ includes actors, singers, writers, musicians, sculptors, and painters. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-to-know-about-the-political-religious-leanings-of-artists-you-like/537231/2 "2010-04-24T18:43:06Z")
What poll? And no, I don’t really care. I like when I find out someone whose work I enjoy has the same opinions as I do, but it doesn’t bother me when I find out they don’t, and I don’t seek either out. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-to-know-about-the-political-religious-leanings-of-artists-you-like/537231/3 "2010-04-24T19:03:56Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > What poll? And no, I don’t really care. I like when I find out someone whose work I enjoy has the same opinions as I do, but it doesn’t bother me when I find out they don’t, and I don’t seek either out. This. I don’t care what their politics are, if I enjoy their work then I enjoy their work. For instance I love the operas of Wagner, even though he was one of the most rabid racists on the planet and I wouldn’t have pissed on him if he was on fire. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-to-know-about-the-political-religious-leanings-of-artists-you-like/537231/4 "2010-04-24T19:08:39Z")
I have actually preferred not to know ever since Prince became a Jehovah’s Witness. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-to-know-about-the-political-religious-leanings-of-artists-you-like/537231/5 "2010-04-24T19:12:54Z")
My heart dies a little when I find out someone is a Scientologist. Politics I don’t really care about, although when someone gets vocal about it, it doesn’t matter if they’re liberal (like the famous Baldwin), or conservative (like the Baldwin who had a career zenith with Bio-Dome). Either way, it gets kind of tiring. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-to-know-about-the-political-religious-leanings-of-artists-you-like/537231/6 "2010-04-24T19:14:32Z")
Yeah, sure, I guess I want to know out of curiosity. I don’t _care_ or hold their beliefs against them, but I’m curious. Besides, being curious leads to learning stuff like Dolph Lundgren is a chemical engineer and a good one or that Peter Weller is the broodiest history professor in the world. It wouldn’t be honest to pretend I suddenly didn’t like Adam Baldwin’s or Kelsey Grammar’s work because they’re a little bonkers. ---
**Author:** ![gladtobeblazed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@gladtobeblazed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gladtobeblazed)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-to-know-about-the-political-religious-leanings-of-artists-you-like/537231/7 "2010-04-24T19:14:52Z")
Not only do I not care about their beliefs, I don’t care about their _actions_ either. It doesn’t affect my opinion of their art at all. Roman Polanski, for instance, is one of my favorite directors even though I think he’s a scumbag. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-to-know-about-the-political-religious-leanings-of-artists-you-like/537231/8 "2010-04-24T19:25:05Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > What poll? Sorry. I didn’t complete the poll, being briefly distracted by the necessity of letting the belly-dancers into the church for their Saturday belly-dancing class. I’d apologize, but I figure I’m exempted under the milf belly-dancer rule. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-to-know-about-the-political-religious-leanings-of-artists-you-like/537231/9 "2010-04-24T21:29:11Z")
Do I \*want \*to know? NO. But that’s because it takes away a little bit of the enjoyment of their work if I find out that they are some kind of idiot. I wish it didn’t bother me, but it does. And since so many Hollywood types have opinions diametrically opposed to mine, I make it a point to not watch them on talk shows, etc…TRM ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-to-know-about-the-political-religious-leanings-of-artists-you-like/537231/10 "2010-04-25T02:34:34Z")
I’d rather not know, lest it color my opinions of their work. I am not very good at seperating the artists from the veiwpoints, and if I learn that Mr. Greatwriter has objectionable opinion X, it will bother me whenever I think of him. It’s bad enough that just about all the cultural “greats” in English literature were anti-Semites… ---
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-to-know-about-the-political-religious-leanings-of-artists-you-like/537231/11 "2010-04-25T03:33:29Z")
No, and I really don’t want to know their sexual orientation, either. Some things are best kept to oneself. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-to-know-about-the-political-religious-leanings-of-artists-you-like/537231/12 "2010-04-25T03:34:41Z")
I’d rather not know. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-to-know-about-the-political-religious-leanings-of-artists-you-like/537231/13 "2010-04-25T03:40:00Z")
I guess it all depends. If their political leanings help to highlight or shed light on some of their songs/books/etc then maybe. Most of the time, though, I’m much more interested in the art speaking for itself. I can say that there is one band I really love and over the years have come to know personally. It saddened me when I found myself on their message board debating with the lead singer/songwriter over whether 9/11 was an inside job or not. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-to-know-about-the-political-religious-leanings-of-artists-you-like/537231/14 "2010-04-25T05:55:26Z")
No, I don’t want to know. Beck going scientologist was a bummer. He shoulda stuck to satanism. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-to-know-about-the-political-religious-leanings-of-artists-you-like/537231/15 "2010-04-25T06:08:22Z")
A good opportunity to apply the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” principle. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-to-know-about-the-political-religious-leanings-of-artists-you-like/537231/16 "2010-04-25T06:43:03Z")
> [@ToeJam](#): > > Beck going scientologist was a bummer. He shoulda stuck to satanism. I thought Beck was born a $cieno. I have a little bit more compassion for those who are brainwashed from birth. I consider myself lucky, in that all my favorite actors and musicians are uber-liberal (some even more liberal than me) and not Scientologists, so I don’t have to even think about what I’d do if I found out they were brain-damaged. Regarding other actors and musicians, since they’re not favorites, I don’t judge their work by wacky beliefs, although I would not be as willing to support someone financially if they were right-wingers or scienos. I quite enjoy Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Bruce Willis, Ahnold and others as actors but I’m not going to pay for their movies. I can’t think of any musicians I like who are teabaggers or scienos but if I came across any I’d be sad for them. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-to-know-about-the-political-religious-leanings-of-artists-you-like/537231/17 "2010-04-25T06:44:41Z")
If it’s relevant to their work, sure. Robert Crumb is presumed to be a strident leftist, but at least one writer of his acquaintance has said it’s a mistake to impute liberal motives to his illiberal depictions of Blacks and women. I have no idea who Dylan voted for or what his politics are, and knowing this might give me a greater appreciation of his body of work. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-to-know-about-the-political-religious-leanings-of-artists-you-like/537231/18 "2010-04-25T07:04:06Z")
I prefer to know as little as possible about authors/artists. If they are the sort that let their views distort their work, that tends to be fairly obvious just by looking at it. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-to-know-about-the-political-religious-leanings-of-artists-you-like/537231/19 "2010-04-25T07:09:16Z")
> [@interface2x](#): > > I can say that there is one band I really love and over the years have come to know personally. It saddened me when I found myself on their message board debating with the lead singer/songwriter over whether 9/11 was an inside job or not. Muse? > [@Equipoise](#): > > I consider myself lucky, in that all my favorite actors and musicians are uber-liberal (some even more liberal than me) and not Scientologists, so I don’t have to even think about what I’d do if I found out they were brain-damaged. Regarding other actors and musicians, since they’re not favorites, I don’t judge their work by wacky beliefs, although I would not be as willing to support someone financially if they were right-wingers or scienos. I quite enjoy Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Bruce Willis, Ahnold and others as actors but I’m not going to pay for their movies. I can’t think of any musicians I like who are teabaggers or scienos but if I came across any I’d be sad for them. Everything I’ve seen about Bruce Willis suggests that he isn’t left wing. That doesn’t make him far right. He’s supported both Republicans and Democrats, and is hardly a religious conservative. It’s the same with Clint Eastwood. If that reduces your willingness to support, fine, but I do feel you should at least pick the real nutjobs. And Arnold? He’s a California Republican. If he were in Oklahoma, he’d be seen left of Marx. > [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > I prefer to know as little as possible about authors/artists. If they are the sort that let their views distort their work, that tends to be fairly obvious just by looking at it. I think the relevant TVTropes page is [Author Tract](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AuthorTract). ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-to-know-about-the-political-religious-leanings-of-artists-you-like/537231/20 "2010-04-25T07:45:19Z")
I don’t necessarily search out this kind of information (though I might, if a question arose and it seemed relevant), but I could never get with the idea of wilful ignorance (“I prefer not to know.”). People’s views are part of who they are. I don’t have to agree with everything an artists says or does to appreciate their work–but at the same time, there are boundaries. I can’t really enjoy the work of people I find despicable, and **I don’t want to**. There’s no shortage of artists! No need to spend money or time on the work of people you really don’t like. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-want-to-know-about-the-political-religious-leanings-of-artists-you-like/537231.md?page=2)