Issue 3: Social Issues

SOCIAL ISSUES

For the sake of society. Unproblematic People Working With Problematic People By: Liz Lemerand

If you search the word “problematic” on Twitter you will find a slew of material regarding celebrities, politicians, and companies that hold offensive or prejudice views on a matter. Most recently, an executive at Victoria’s Secret made comments that transgender models do not belong in their annual fashion show. Despite making crude racially charged statements in the past fashion house, Dolce & Gabbana has been “cancelled” for running an ad in which a Chinese model struggles to eat Italian food with chopsticks. It seems like everyday there’s a new problematic scandal.

A large crop of these problematic individuals have used their status and wealth to engage in non-censual and often aggressive sexual acts. In recent years, movements like Time’s Up and #MeToo have outed these sexual harassment and/or sexual assault instances in the form of exposés. In just one year since the infamous Weinstein piece in October 2017, Bloomberg reports that about 425 people with some sort of status have been accused of some degree of sexual assault or misconduct.

Whether it is racially insensitive comments or sexual assault, the spectrum is vast and we’ve seen individuals disappear into the abyss, i.e. Kevin Spacey, and some bounce back with little resistance, i.e. Aziz Ansari, who is embarking on a 12-week North American tour with several dates sold out. As these #MeToo allegations grew, many began to struggle with separating the art from the artist. Popular comedian Louis C.K. was one of the first that people had a hard time quickly abandoning. These situations often perfectly mimic the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal. The leader of the free world being accused of a sex scandal with a White House intern was something nobody was prepared for. The

notion that the situation pertained to his personal life and didn’t necessarily affect his duty as Presidentis something that people felt comfortable subscribing to. He remained in office and 20 years later, he isstill revered.

If you springboard off the separation of art and artist, a more complicated situation arises. One in which an unproblematic individual engages professionally (or even unprofessionally) with a problematic individual. The question at hand is: is the unproblematic individual now problematic by proxy? Trying to unpack it is difficult. As someone without celebrity status, I know I have plenty of friends and family that have been problematic in the past, but that doesn’t mean they’re “cancelled.”

One salient example of this is Kim Petras, a transgender pop singer on the rise, working with producer Dr. Luke, accused by Kesha in 2014 of sexual assault and abuse. She recently toured with Troye Sivan and has found success with almost every single and the release of her spooky EP, Turn Off The Light, Vol. 1. Her fans are well aware and tend to overlook the partnership tweeting: Kim Petras has never disappointed me!!!! (Except for the fact that she works with Dr. L*ke). Is Petras endorsing a sexual assaulter? It is a question that requires a thorough and delicate answer. As someone who has never experienced sexual abuse, I’m not sure it’s my place to declare what’s right or wrong. What I will say is there are no trans popstars, and the transgender community remains highly underrepresented, so seeing someone like Kim Petras have success and be a voice for that community is incredible.

A big issue for the public seems to be whether or not the unproblematic individual addresses or apologizes for the fact that they’ve engaged with the problematic entity. I mentioned the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show earlier on, in which many models and performers were slammed for their participation in the show. Specifically Halsey, a bisexual individual and an LGBTQIA+ ally, who wasn’t made aware of the transphobic comments until after the taping, took a stand against the brand the day of the show’s airing. On the inverse, Selena Gomez was attacked when she decided to work with Woody

Allen in late 2017. When asked about it in press interviews she expressed she had trouble formulating a answer and ended her response to Billboard with, “I stepped back and thought, ‘Wow, the universe works in interesting ways.'” This only led to more outrage. In 2018, a poorly articulated response is almost worse than silence.

A theory that could boil this concept down a bit is the six degrees of separation, which explains that any person on the planet can be connected to another person within a chain of no more than five individuals. It is quite mind-blowing to consider and when it’s put into terms of smaller associations like celebrities, it’s safe to assume everyone is likely associated on smaller levels of three to four degrees. That along with the 425 accusations made within the year, everyone in the industry has worked and probably is working with someone problematic. This revelation doesn’t make it okay, but it does put into perspective the difficulty of ostracizing everyone that’s made a mistake.

So where does that leave us? First and foremost, it’s important to remember the cliché: nobody’s perfect. People will make mistakes and people can grow and learn from them. Some mistakes are worse than others and are potentially unforgivable. There is a standard for those with celebrity status because they hold influence over their supporters. In a time of social justice warriors highlighting their biggest faux pas, it’s more constructive to focus on the change we can make within ourselves and our community, rather than cancel them and move on. This doesn’t mean I want Harvey Weinstein to see the light of day ever again, but I’d like to see less condemning action of those who have intentionally or unintentionally aligned themselves with a problematic being.

Expecting our favorite brands, stars, and elected officials to be a flawless representation of social decency isn’t reasonable. Of course I’d prefer if Kim Petras worked with a different producer, which she has, but her association with Dr. Luke doesn’t immediately compel me to denounce her, especially given her talent and the doors she’s opening for trans individuals in the music industry. She’s digested

the backlash and my hope is she works with some other producers in the future. Deciding who to support can be an ethical quandary, but if we dove deep into the networks of who is working with who, we’d probably be cancelling entire industries on the daily. In the end, it comes down to personal experience and how affected one feels by the partnership of the individuals.