John Belushi; a man who had the gift to make people laugh and to make real art. He had earthly rewards beyond the hopes of most of us. Then he decided to do drugs and (basically) kill himself. He threw it all away.
I think that (Richards) is one dude who truly feels bad about what he did. I saw him on Seinfeld’s show (“Comedians in Cars” or whatever it’s called). He was a wreck. Seinfeld was trying to talk Richards into doing stand up again. And Richards swore he would never do it again because he doesn’t deserve to on the stage.
While I personally lean more toward @Mean_Mr.Mustard’s point of view (“If I love an artist’s work, I love it for a reason. That doesn’t go away when I learn that some aspect of the artist’s personal life is not what I had assumed it was”), I do understand this thread.
It’s not that people “have to keep track,” which makes it sound far more voluntary and effortful than I think it is for most people. It’s that, for some people, when they hear a song or see a movie by someone who has done something awful, they can’t help being reminded of that awful thing, and that brings them down and spoils the experience for them.
That and, for some people, enjoying the work of a singer or writer or actor or comedian involves, to a greater or lesser degree, forming a connection (or even a “relationship” of some sort) with that person; and they don’t want to have that kind of connection with someone they don’t like or respect.
What @Thudlow_Boink said. For instance, Stranglehold was a great song. But now when I hear it, instead of grooving, I’m pondering what a dick Nugent is, and it’s no fun anymore. I wish I still liked that song.
Bill Cosby
Jimmy Page
Roman Polanski
Kevin Spacey
Mark Wahlberg
These people went beyond having horrible viewpoints. They committed horrible acts.
Thanks a lot! Now I can’t like Groucho either!
Groucho and Mae West went together to an Alice Cooper concert to see what all the fuss was about. As veteran vaudevillians (especially in Mae West’s case, since she’d been jailed for her show Sex), they immediately “got” it, unlike millions of people (my mom included) half their age who saw it as the harbinger of the end of civilization.
Sometimes it’s hard to separate the art from the artist (Van Morrison) and sometimes it’s not (Bill Cosby) Some things are distasteful while others are repugnant. One way to look at it is, “Am I contributing to the artist’s income or popularity by my actions.” Listening to a song on the radio won’t do a damn thing for Ted Nugent but buying his CD will, so take it from there.
And:
Louis C. K. turned out to be quite the pig.
Very true.
I had, earlier, mentioned Michael Jackson as one whom I now have difficulty listening to his music, because of what I now know about his personal life. If a Jackson song comes on the radio, I may or may not change the station, but I have no plans to buy any more of his music, and I don’t actively choose to listen to his songs very often anymore.
I was never a big Nugent fan, though I kind of liked “Cat Scratch Fever.” I came to realize that he was a flaming ass at least a decade ago, and I will change the station if one of his songs comes on. I’d do the same with Gary Glitter’s music, but it seems like his actions caused most radio programmers to remove his work from their playlists years ago.
You can add Glen Campbell to the list. He and AC were golfing buddies.
One person whose political opinions have turned me away from his talent is Scott Adams. Being a Trumper was bad enough, but his nosedive into insanity with his comment “that if Biden were to win the [2020 presidential election], then Republicans would be hunted and there’s a “good chance” they’ll be “dead within a year” just made me turn him off completely.
HP Lovecraft was a vicious racist for most of his life (though I’ve read that he somewhat saw the error of his ways in his final years), but I still consider him my favorite author, read his works, and have emulated his style more than once in writings of my own. I suppose I’m willing to give him a pass because he died long before I was born, his entire body of work is in the public domain and I’m not financially contributing to an estate that tries to engage in apologetics for his behavior, and if anything his crippling xenophobia and fear of the other contributed to his writing about unspeakable horrors lying just below the surface of everyday society.
If he were alive today, though, he’d almost certainly be a MAGAhead (unless his all encompassing Anglo-Saxon-centrism couldn’t possibly allow him to vote for someone who was half-Scot, of all vile and wretched things), and I wouldn’t be willing to touch his works with a 39 1/2 foot pole.
May I suggest Motörhead’s cover?
I been a fan of Scott Adams for years and I really don’t think he is a committed Trumper/conservative ideologue. I would describe him moreas a right-leaning contrarian/troll—just irritating and contradicting people for the sake of it.
That being said if you don’t like him and don’t want anything to do with hi, that is your right.
Kinda gobsmacked that I’m finding out only now 
about his racist rant at a gig in Birmingham in the 70s that led to all the Rock Against Racism concerts soon after. I’ll bet he wasn’t invited to any of them.
Speaking of Clapton…
Deutsche Welle reports a judgement was filed in Clapton’s favor earlier this week at a court in the Düsseldorf area of Germany … where he’d sued this 55-year-old widow, who says her late husband bought the album years ago at a record store – arguing she didn’t know it was fake or infringing on his copyright.
Anthony Bourdain - I used to love his travel shows. I have not watched a single moment of his shows since his suicide. I’m not even mad at him. It’s just too sad and painful.
IIRC, the jury at his second trial issued him a written apology. He was funny guy.
Wanda Young of the Marvelettes no longer young at 22 points.
I have no idea how my previous post got there. Mods, can you please delete it?
Well, don’t be so hard on yourself. Her last action has kinda ruined it if you wanted to hear her sing again.