A few weeks ago, my friend and I went to see “The Expendables 3,” which in and of itself was a terrible movie. Even worse, I didn’t know Mel Gibson was in it, which made me mad that I actually used my hard-earned money to pay to watch this animal pretend to be talented. The fact that I am helping him remain on top made me sick. I couldn’t even open my M&M’s bag, and I was really looking forward to some chocolate.
This experience prompted me to rant to my friends on how to separate the artists and their art. Why do we look the other way and ignore the artist if the art looks entertaining? Others don’t care about the actors, claiming that celebrity happenings are too insipid to take seriously. But if you pay attention, then you will know who to not see and not finance a bad person’s lifestyle.
Gibson is openly racist, unapologetically homophobic, anti-women and anti-Semitic. He has made several graphic and awful comments that are too crude and grotesque to repeat here. But let’s just say they would make your stomach turn. As a Jewish female, nothing can redeem him in my eyes. I had vowed to never see one of his movies again. Unfortunately, I had failed.
I also questioned the judgment of those who willingly chose to work with Gibson. I love Kellan Lutz, but his star status has diminished greatly in my eyes after seeing him in “The Expendables 3,” and he was one of the few who actually did a good job. Jason Statham also did an OK job, but again, he was acting with Gibson, who is just a misogynistic pig. Sorry, not sorry. Statham and Lutz need to find nicer people to work with, people who might actually fall into the human being category.
Woody Allen is another example of a person whom I try to avoid spending money on. From dating the adopted daughter of his ex-girlfriend Mia Farrow and new accusations of sexual abuse toward Farrow’s other adopted daughter, it is really difficult to respect anyone who knowingly chooses to work with him. How do they get past the atrocious crimes he has committed and, most likely will commit in the future?
There are a lot of problematic artists in Hollywood. Jane Fonda visited Vietnamese soldiers during the Vietnam War. Sean Penn met with late Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. James Franco texted an underage girl. Chris Brown violently attacked his then-girlfriend Rihanna. These are only a few examples of the kinds of people the masses look up to, when in truth, they should be ostracized.
So you can’t and shouldn’t separate the artist from the art. Gibson and other artists like him are too awful to financially support. Supporting the art
