Mel Gibson is one I can’t support giving any money to. Not that I’m missing much by boycotting him.
I also can’t stand Tom Cruise as a person, or as an actor. I don’t see his movies because he sucks. But, as a bonus, he’s not getting any of my money to support his assishness, so it works out well all around.
My expectations regarding actors are limited, at best, so if they have wacky ideas, like Scientology, I’m not surprised. I may disagree with Mormons theologically, but I refer people to the South Park episode that both mocks their beliefs, but also admits that they, as individuals, can be really nice and good people, and that can be traced, in part, to their beliefs.
Polanski and Allen are still too hinky.
Same here.
I don’t have a similar attitude toward Polanski, though. I have a hard time reconciling this. I think that it mostly has to do with the fact that I held Polanski in high esteem before I’d heard anything about what happened at Nicholson’s place.
It’s still difficult for me to reconcile.
I don’t, but my wife won’t watch Tom Cruise movies anymore…can’t get over the crazy Scientology stuff…especially the ridiculing of people who have certain disorders.
No Polanski, nor now anyone who signed that petition in support of him, which is hard, because the directors (Neil Jordan, Sam Mendes) of my two of my favorite films ever (Breakfast on Pluto, American Beauty) are on that list. 
No Scientologists. Not ever. The last time I paid to see a Scientologist’s movie was Jerry Maguire, before I knew about the weirdness of them. Never again. I also don’t watch their TV shows, like “My Name is Earl” when it was on, or Jenna Elfman’s new thing.
I won’t watch any NFL game that Michael Vick plays in, no matter who else is involved. A rumor is going around that he is signing a deal with Nike, which will mean no more Nike ever, even if they stop using child labor.
For me it is the idea that if I knew every detail of every artists’ life, there would be no one that I’d be able to watch. I’m too selfish to pass up good entertainment because someone believes something different than me. The caveat is my earlier post about their wacky beliefs actually being part of their performance.
As a side note, where can I find the OSC article about homosexuality?
I agree with** Jodi** and Postariti. It’s not so much a formal boycott, as the way the knowledge gets in the way of enjoying their work.
Mine is Marion Zimmer Bradley, whose work I used to enjoy. She was GOH at a con I was at once, and said some really cool stuff that I found personally helpful, so I was a fan because of her behavior.
Then I found out that her husband was a founder of NAMBLA, and that she made a deal with him. He agreed not to touch her children (from a previous marriage) and she helped procure other children for him. She was in the process of adopting a boy he was interested in from foster care* when the child of friends talked to the police and blew the whole thing wide open.
She’s dead, so nothing I do affects her, but to the day she died she insisted there was nothing wrong with the whole deal and her husband was just a wonderful person, a genius, and couldn’t be held to the standards of lesser humans.
Every time I see her name on a book, I feel slightly sick to my stomach.
*Any kind of child-rape is horrible, but kids in foster care have been through hell and back at least once, and it’s worse to me that she held out the hope of escape to that little boy, while intending him harm.
WHAT?!? Cite, please!
Holy CRAP! Cite for me too, please.
I’ve wanted to buy a copy of MJ’s “Off the Wall” album since forever, but decided I never would once his whole pedophile/general manipulative freakshow thing came out. I won’t buy one even now that he’s dead, because his family is as bad as he was, and even though I have absolutely nothing but pity for the children, there are way too many Jackson vultures in line trying to whittle off a hunk of the estate for themselves. (Also, the general post-mortem Jackson worship sickens me. Yes, he was abused as a child. That doesn’t make his adult behavior blameless, people!)
Add to the list: Mel Gibson (even if he still had anything to offer, which I don’t think he does).
Michael Vick: I wouldn’t let my dog piss on him if he were on fire.
Jenny McCarthy: Would boycott if there were anything worth boycotting. Same for Roman Polanski.
I’d love to say that I boycott Tom Cruise, but that would be hypocritical, since I just watched and enjoyed Kirstie Alley’s Fat Actress series, which includes both Alley AND John Travolta.
I don’t watch Oprah, partly because she backs up idiots like McCarthy.
In short, the usual cast of idiots.
http://www.sff.net/people/stephen.goldin/mzb/ has the basics, from a hostile point of view. Be sure to read the depositions.
This is still a touchy subject in SF fandom. People old enough to remember it and to have been there have told me that it ripped things apart. Before that, there was still the “fans=slans” mentality in a lot of places, and the clear understanding that fandom was “our people,” the sanctuary from the outside world. That was never true, but the illusion was there, and this destroyed it. I mentioned the “Breendoggle” at WisCon last year and was told, very firmly, that there are still people hurting from that, in a way that ended the conversation.
The part about MZB’s attitude towards Breen was told to me also at WisCon, by some Bay Area fans who knew her. They said that the subject was rarely brought up, but when it did, that’s what she said. One of the Darkover books deals with pedophilia, and dedicated to Breen in glowing terms. I’m told that the book sums up her attitude to the entire scandal, with the different tone of the depositions reflecting her desire to stay out of jail. (She wasn’t delusional, and knew she lived in a bit of an “alternate universe” in some ways. You can say things to SF fandom that you shouldn’t say to the grand jury.)
So some of that is hearsay, but the basic facts are pretty clear, and I’m satisfied that what I’ve been told fits the facts and the bigger picture that I know about.
Welp, THAT puts MZB in a Circle of Hell that I had no idea she merited!
Now to resist looking for my copy of The Mists of Avalon & burning it.
I’ve only ever read Ender’s Game, but the man’s pre-occupation with naked children in that book really weirded me out. Otherwise, it was a great story though.
I think it has to have the bleed-over effect for me to avoid their work. I’m pretty moderate, so I am annoyed by both extremes.
Sean Penn/Tim Robbins- I hate that he legitimizes oppressive regimes such as Ahmadinejad or Chavez. But let’s face it. The man is talented. Mystic River. Milk. He’s too damn good. Same with smug buddy Tim Robbins. Mystic River was a chore for me, but damn were they good. I’m not going to give up Bull Durham because Tim Robbins sounds like a pompous idiot.
Jane Fonda- I respect the heck out of anti-war protesters, even if I support the war in question. That’s America. But riding an anti-aircraft cannon of the enemy like it was a big ol’ cock was way to far. It pretty much ruined her for me. Of course, I’ll still watch Barbarella, because my own personal anti-aircraft cannon demands it! Hot it hot.
Orson Scott Card- For the longest time, his right wing ramblings/homophobia bothered me, but I enjoyed his books. But once he wrote that book about liberals and conservatives in the US going to war, I was done with him. It bleeds over for me even in politically neutral books. He broke the seal and associated his writings with his ramblings. I have nothing specifically against LDS and even enjoyed his book Folk of the Fringe.
Scientologists- I am generally distrustful of all organized religion at some level, but these guys take the cake. I don’t like their tactics, but I judge on a chump by chump basis. Only one person has gone so far on the wacky wagon to bleed through. Good ol’ Tom. Travolta is as wrapped up in it as anyone, but in interviews he tones down the crazy and comes off as a really nice guy. I’m sure he shares the wacko views, but he holds his cards a little tighter to his vest. Good enough. Of course, he hasn’t made any good movies since the 90’s, so what are you gonna do?
Barbra Streisand- I have NEVER seen a Streisand film in my life. Her personality is so abrasive that she is my only true boycott. It has nothing to do with ideology or scandal. She’s just self a self-absorbed harpie that I cannot stand to support her.
Freddie Prinze Jr- After paying to see Boys and Girls in the theater, I vowed to never see him in anything else. Strictly a quality decision. Nothing personal.
If it makes you feel any better, the storyline wasn’t thought up by Card. He was commisioned to write that book by a video game company that wanted to use the liberal terrorists (not liberals versus conservatives) storyline in a game they were working on. The only reason they picked Card was because they already had a working relationship with him because they have the rights to make Ender’s Game games.
The Empire game (Shadow Complex) was finally released on the Xbox 360 this Summer after years in development. The Ender’s Game game is still in development and may never come out.
I’d forgotten about Ender! Possibly the one child in the universe mature enough to fuck Cesario, if they were both gay.
‘Hanoi’ Jane Fonda. 'nuff said.
Mel Gibson: racist.
No, I haven’t. Then again, I see movies if they look good, not because of a particular actor or director (unless it’s one of maybe three or four people. Then I’ll seek out their films.) When I’m watching a movie, I’m only watching the movie, I don’t care what they do in their personal time. I suppose there would be a point where that would change, though in all honestly if it was a film that I wanted to see, I’d probably see it anyway, or at least rent it.
No. I’m not going to deprive myself of something that I’ll probably like just because I don’t agree with the creator. Honestly, there’s too much I’d miss out on.
I’d boycott Billy Zane and Gary Busey, if they actually still had careers.
I started avoiding Jane Fonda way back in the day. Not because of her viewpoint (I tended to agree), but because I felt her encouragement of the Viet Cong was totally inappropriate at a time when they were torturing POWs. I could reassess, but it’s become a habit and it doesn’t really hurt anything for me to skip her movies and exercise videos anymore.