Recording artist Kanye West is possibly the most controversial celebrity out there. However, he’s still one of today’s most popular artists. Photo courtesy of AP News.
Art can take the form of many things: music, pictures, games, fashion, and many others. Recently students at San Luis Obispo High have noticed that sometimes the people behind their favorite forms of art aren’t always as great as the art itself. However, this doesn’t mean we should stop enjoying that art.
One of the most notable examples recently is recording artist Kanye West. While the things that he has said are very harmful and not ok, his music is still very popular and he continues to be one of the most streamed artists in the world.
“Kanye has said very bad things that no human should ever repeat and he is right to receive the punishments he gets. However, he made [the album] Graduation,” said Sophomore Jacob Schuetze.
Kanye also lost his deal with Adidas for his shoe brand, Yeezy. Just because you wear Yeezys or listen to Kanye doesn’t mean you align yourself with the creator’s views, it just means you enjoy his art.
In a totally different realm, another example is the game “Hogwarts Legacy”.
The game takes place in Hogwarts before the events of Harry Potter and you get to create your own witch or wizard and follow your own path in the wizarding world.
The game has sold very well, being the most successful game of 2023 so far, and it has received very good reviews from players. Many people are avoiding the game though because of the creator of the series, J.K. Rowling. Rowling has made many statements that are very transphobic in the past. Many people do not want to help support or fund her in any way because of her views.
This however, doesn’t make a lot of sense because Rowling didn’t actually make the game. A game studio made it, and Rowling only gets a small amount of money in royalties for being the creator of the wizarding world. Rowling is already a billionaire from all the other forms of media that Harry Potter is in, so boycotting the game really won’t affect her.
“Just because J.K. Rowling has said some things that are very unsupportive toward LGBTQ people doesn’t mean it’s a bad game. The game wasn’t directed by her and it’s still an amazing game that even has LGBTQ characters, so it’s a good game,” said sophomore Izayah Crespo Johnson.
While it is understandable that some people will not want to support something with a person that has unsupportive views, especially if it harms their own community, the art that they create can still be very good.
Just because a person has an unfavorable side to them doesn’t mean that they are all bad and everything they touch is pure evil. We can still enjoy these products and not represent the creator.
