Kill Your Idols

As a fangirl, I fully understand getting into a celebrity and becoming obsessive to an unhealthy degree. I get it. Especially when times are hard. I have been there. It’s important to remember that even celebrities are human. They say the wrong things sometimes. They make mistakes. They shit on the toilet and make a mess, just like you and me. But some people turn out to be total monsters. (No, this is not a post about toxic fan behavior, maybe some other time)

I was really disappointed to hear the allegations against Marilyn Manson. I was a fan of his in the late 90’s into the early 2000’s. His music was important and he was eloquent and intelligent. He sang/screamed about moral decay and the hypocrisy of religion and all the sorts of things that I too felt alienated from. And at some point his music became mediocre and he got old and became more irrelevant. It happens. When Evan Rachel Wood came out with the allegations of abuse against him, I believed her. Once you speak out you can never take it back. To anyone who bullies people for speaking their truth about abuse can fuck off. When people speak out against their abusers it opens them up to being attacked by anonymous or even not so anonymous assholes. Ask any woman who has spoken up about the male toxicity of the gaming industry or Dr. Christine Blasey Ford who came out publicly with her own accusations against now Supreme Court Justice and entitled white douche-knuckle Brett Kavanaugh. You know what happens to people who speak out publicly against famous abusers? Their lives and safety get threatened. Their addresses are publicly posted and they endure so much vitriol and hate. They gain nothing. I’ve said this before about my own experiences – people who endure abuse and toxic behavior have to process and work hard to recover. The people who judge them, especially the mediocre toxic white men, they don’t do the work at all.

Remember Bill Cosby? Of course you do. Stupid question. The allegations were out there and largely ignored until Hannibal Buress brought it up during a comedy show. You know what I specifically remember? So many fanboys refusing to believe the women who came forward with allegations. There are possibly up to sixty women who came forward with allegations since the 1960’s. And fanboys still wouldn’t believe. I understand having to reckon with and come face to face with your hero being a closet monster. But not facing that shit just makes you an asshole. I could write a whole post about toxic male behavior in our society but nobody has time for that.

Question: can you separate the art from the artist?

The monster is often right there, obvious for your eyes to see or your ears to hear. For Marilyn Manson, some of the song lyrics might suddenly sound different (“Deformography” is a good example….). For Bill Cosby, a few jokes might suddenly sound menacing (The infamouse “Spanish Fly” routine). For movie directors (seriously, I can’t believe that Woody Allen still gets a pass) their movies, how women are treated, how their characters are written, suddenly take on new meaning and you may watch through different monster colored lenses. The monsters hide in plain sight. No, I don’t separate the art from the artist. The art is forever tainted.

How quickly we forget. Did you know that Kevin Spacey is set to make his comeback to film soon? Apparently his toxic abusive predatory behavior towards boys has been forgiven or we’ve forgotten. Or we don’t care. The cherry on the moldy cake – he is playing a detective investigating a false claim of pedophilia.

*throws hands up in the air in frustration*

Hold humans accountable. No one should get a free pass because they are rich or famous or talented. Not to mention the above mentioned are rather mediocre so “talented” is a bit of a stretch.

Final note: I had like 6 half-baked unfinished posts in my drafts while I’ve been inactive in my coccoon, in case you are wondering why I was absent and am suddenly posting three posts in 2 days.

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