You disagree with the artist's politics or beliefs but enjoy their work

This was on Bluesky - the discussion was pretty interesting. Some movie directors and authors came up.

James Ellroy, the crime fiction novelist--weirdly conservative

Steve Ditko, the comic book artist--obsessed with Ayn Rand's ideas

P. D. James, the crime fiction novelist--committed Tory

Kate Mulgrew for me – an anti-abortion Dem and I just don't care. She could gay bash me and I'd say thank you.

r1 I didn't know Christopher Nolan was a conservative?

If I disagree with someone's politics or beliefs I simply don't engage with them. Life is too short to be subjected to someone you can't respect.

R2 I didn't know about Ditko until I read that Bluesky thread.

Nolan is definitely one of the names that came up and I think Mike Judge did too - I think he's more libertarian but that was a sticking point for some people, I guess.

I should say, the first few replies debate Nolan - some thinking he was more conservative, others disagreed.

T. S. Eliot -- anti-Semitic and deeply conservative

D. H. Lawrence -- fascinated by fascism

Yeah, I checked Reddit and they're getting all this just from how cops and crime are dealt with in his Batman movies, not necessarily from anything he's said in real life. Which seems like weak evidence to me.

Christopher Hitchens for me. A lively, intelligent writer and super huge Trotskiest cunt. I enjoyed his massive ego and wit.

r9 His essay on why women aren't funny was something else as well. And his response that the backlash to it only proved his point was just as bad.

Hugely difficult person, as so many of these intellectuals are.

God help me, but I think James Woods is a great actor and I love his work. Not his politics.

I'm more moderate/centrist. Liberal but anti woke/idpol. So it's more about a specific issue I may disagree with than politics as a whole. There's not many people I agree with or disagree with 100%.

Without going back in history, none that I can think of. The fine art world has long had its share of assholes, but I prefer to see them through their art not through their politics and beliefs. There are no contemporary artists whose work I like who are fascists or hardcore conservatives or religious zealots (to my knowledge), and I prefer to see them through their art rather than their politics or beliefs.

Plenty of dead writers had politics or views that I don't share, be we lived in different time periods so it's only interesting to a point. Music I can't think offhand of anyone whose music I love but whose politics I hate. Seemingly unpleasant people I shouldn't like to know, yes, in all categories, but not really for politics or beliefs.

P. D. James -- good mystery writer. Rightwing homophobic bitch

Goop imitates humans in a flawless manner.

Evelyn Waugh: elitist, racist Tory, but probably the greatest satirist and comic novelist of his generation.

[quote] Goop imitates humans in a flawless manner.

Thank you, little person.

Gary Busey, Kid Rock, so many really.

You enjoy the work of Gary Busey and Kid Rock??

Roald Dahl. But then if he were nice, his gleefully nasty work wouldn't have been as great.

Leonardo DiCaprio. Hypocritical "environmentalist".

Sean Baker (just look at the people he follows on X)

Clint Eastwood

David Lynch (he was an outspoken conservative)

I used to ignore Morrissey's politics until it became too much but I'm still enjoying The Smiths. His solo stuff I have no interest in these days.

Vince Vaughn

Susan Sarandon -- usually I mostly agree with her political beliefs, but she takes them too far and she's obnoxious about them.

Deb Messing -- she had seemed reasonably liberal-centrist until the Gaza War, and now she seems to have gone off the deep end and has become a Netanyahu apologist.

Mel Gibson. I will never stop liking his early career films - MadMax, Year of Living Dangerously, The Bounty. Lethal Weapon...

Morrissey. His music was such a part of my teenage years, I'll always love him for that.

Michael Jackson, for obvious reasons.

Mark Helprin, the novelist. Outstanding writer. Right-winger. Social conservative. Proud snob. I wish I could say his fiction blows, but it's among the best you'll ever read.

Woody Allen owns this thread

[quote] Nolan is definitely one of the names that came up

Nolan who?

Not for anything but Bluesky is 99% loons. Thr most insufferable people on the planet who pay themselves on the back for being virtuous.

R29 What are Woody's political views?

R32 Liberal.

Call me simple I can't separate an Artists politics from their art. Luckily I find it rare that one must do so.

Kelsey Grammer - His take on Frasier is brilliant, but obviously I don't need to meet the man in person.

Robert Stack was a huge Repub but I find his work as an actor compelling.

R36 again. Barbara Stanwyck was another huge Repub actor whose politics couldn't be more different from mine, but she is my great screen idol. A perfect actor.

Roseanne. I think I kind of have it both ways

I've been watching clips from the show back in the 90s. The show holds up extremely well and is brilliant. As is she, (at least in the middle seasons). And when I watch, I remember what her political views were at that time. She was often outspoken, but most of the time on the right side, (as in the correct, moral side). Her stand-up was funny, I even howled at her "Star Spangled Banner" rendition.

Now, or course, she's a far-right wing lunatic. Has seemingly completely lost her mind, but also, attempting to watch her stand-up or any of her personal appearances, horrible! Not funny. Just cheap, loud, vulgar. Not a wit of cleverness or intelligence.

So I still completely love the Roseanne of old, both her AND her art; and despise both present incarnations.

John Wilkes Booth

I have a feeling if I were to dig around in John Irving's personal writings I'd disagree with some of his stances. But he's a brilliant if eccentric writer.

R30 if you look at the post 2 replies before the one you quoted, you'll see it was director Christopher Nolan who was mentioned.

I have a love/hate relationship with DL non-fave Patricia Heaton. I loved The Middle sitcom and have enjoyed her in other things as well but obviously her politics don't align with mine and she comes off like she'd be a bitch in real life. On paper I don't want to like her but there's something about her that makes me give her a pass.

R32 "What are Woody's political views?"

More his creepy "beliefs" than "politics".

R43 it said political in the title

Bonnie Raitt. I adore her music and how she’s always supported black rhythm & blues musicians of previous generations who didn’t get the credit and compensation they deserved, but she’s a NIMBY asshole and her anti-nuclear power activism is really kind of unforgivable.

Most of the people you know how political beliefs you don’t agree with yet don’t know about. It’s a fact of life.

[quote] it said political in the title

It said "politics or beliefs".

The original thread on another social media site covered a wide array of artists/creators and an array of topics, but of course politics and religion are pretty much the two biggest conflict points for humans!

Yes. I separate the art from the human being which is almost necessary considering how terrible many artists are as human beings. Not only terrible politics but terrible to people around them.

I listen to Wagner. I will watch the new Harry Potter films. I listen to Pink Floyd.

Morrissey's behavior definitely killed his solo stuff for me.

Partly the more political aspects of his comments, and partly because I've met him in person and he's just a walking cloud of hissing negativity, one I'd rather not be around in any way.

[quote] What are Woody's political views?

pedophile

Mia is nuts and a woman scorned. No other accusations against Allen. Believing her is a choice.

Re: R44 And thank you OP R47

R43

And why in the step-daughter-with-special-needs-tasteless-marriage are you defending him R44 ?

Mia is bitch.

Eric Clapton - yikes

[italic]Person of Interest[/italic] is my favorite series. I wish Jim Caviezel hadn't lost his mind (adrenochrome? Really Jim?), but I still enjoy rewatching it.

Kelsey Grammer

Me too, R38. I can’t hate Roseanne because of who she used to be.

A person's politics never bothered me, but I draw the line at fascists and their enablers.

Not politics but a horrible person to women, Neil Gaiman.

Whitney Houston.

She believed the children are our future.

I believe otherwise.

Michael Jackson and early Mel Gibson. Love their art.

Prince

In later years he converted to Jehovah's Witness and expressed some homophobic opinions but he seemed to have complicated beliefs that were ever-evolving throughout his life so I can't dismiss him as a close-minded zealot.

AZELIA BANKS OWNS THIS MAFUCKIN THREAD.

+1 to Kid Rock. Also Scott Baio, Kevin Sorbo, and Hulk Hogan (RIP). All of the most important and relevant cultural touchstones in any of our lives are sadly on the far right end of the political spectrum.

I don’t care about their beliefs as long as they don’t use there celebrity to promote them.

With so many who still follow Trump. In my view, it's not even politics. It's just fucking crime! They follow criminals, nothing political about it.

I think Cynthia Erivo represents some of the worst excesses and entitlements of the “queer” movement, but there’s no denying she’s a dynamic singer.

[quote]I'm more moderate/centrist. Liberal but anti woke/idpol. So it's more about a specific issue I may disagree with than politics as a whole. There's not many people I agree with or disagree with 100%.

R7 this is pretty much my position too, they have to be pretty egregiously disgusting people for me to swear off anything they do

[quote]Eric Clapton - yikes

R54 Yikes indeed! I could overlook his offensive comments in 1976 given he was drunk at the time, but he has later doubled down with praise of Enoch Powell while stone cold sober, plus he is good mates with Roger Waters (talking of pretty egregiously disgusting) which is not an indicator of good judgement or values. So yes, I am extremely conflicted about enjoying his music - and he IS a good guitarist

As a moderate who thinks the best system is capitalism mixed with strong regulations and safety nets , I could say this about a lot of artists. And beliefs? Astrology and crystals seem to be popular with the artistic crowd, so, yeah, big difference of opinion there...

I am not able to do this.

R42, I agree completely about Heaton. I loved both “Everybody Loves Raymond” and “The Middle”. Both were hilarious and had great casts and Heaton was a big part of the success. But I imagine she’s a lot more like Debra than Frankie in real life- angry Debra. And I hate her politics.

I love reading about Gertrude Stein and her circle in Paris. But a lot of those artists were womanizing pigs, Hemingway was a macho boor, and Stein herself was no liberal. She thought male homosexuality was aberrant. And she and Alice pulled something shady with the Petain-backed government in France to be able to survive as two Jewish lesbians during WWII. She was a fascist sympathizer and suggested Hitler get the Nobel Peace Prize.

R66 Roger Waters? What exactly did he do? He's absolutely progressive. More than most.

Prince - he hated gay people and spoke out against marriage equality.

Prince, yeah.

I don't think he always hated gay people, he just got fucking weird after that asshole he hung out with converted him to being a Jehovah's Witness.

Waters has been an apologist for authoritarians like Putin, Maduro, Assad and the CCP.

Scott Baio

This discussion has been going on a long time. Richard Wagner was very anti-semitic and an influential polemicist. Also one of the greatest opera composers who ever lived. We're far removed from his era, but it's still rather shocking that he not only held those beliefs, but worked hard to promote them in his letters and essays. I think many people love his music but will always put an asterisk next to his name in their mental files, even 150 years later.

Scott Adams (Dilbert) was a talented cartoonist for part of his life. It was horrifying to discover just how right=wing and racist his personal opinions have become. (Maybe he always had those opinions and they only became more public in recent times). Haven't read Dilbert in 20 years, but now I'm regretting reading it before that.

Yeah, Adams took a really hard right turn and become such an asshole.

[quote][R66] Roger Waters? What exactly did he do? He's absolutely progressive. More than most.

R71 quite apart from being an apologist for authoritarians like Putin, Maduro, Assad and the CCP as R74 quite rightly points out he is also a virulent anti-semite see link

He has a progressive facade, but there is some real vileness behind that. Not at all surprising that he is good friends with a racist bigot (Clapton)

His own former band members have said as much and want nothing to do with him understandably

R51

To be fair, Dylan said she remembers Woody Allen molesting her. I have clear non-traumatic memories from that age so I'm inclined to believe her when she says she remembers him touching her. It's not just Mia.

R78 can you point out any actual antisemitic remarks from that documentary? Did you really think I was dumb enough to accept a vague headline about a pro zionist documentary against a militant pro palestine man as proof? Come on now...

I actually do disagree on the other stuff (Maduro, Putin, etc)

Never knew Polly was a member (in her dreams maybe) of PF, but again, care to point out an actual example?

The other member Nick Mason has said nothing of the sort, and has spoken out against what that moronic twit has said, btw.