Can we continue to love the works of an artist - if the artist is an asshole?

Decided to separate this stuff from my daily lockdown update.

Well, we now have confirmation on why Whedon left social media completely in November, and HBO's The Nevers in October - with only six episodes completed (there's a new show-runner hired - who is a British female feminist writer and activist). (Kind of already knew why - but it was admittedly at that point mainly speculation.) I was speculating and giving Whedon the benefit of the doubt on why he left - because it could have been for personal reasons like he said. But I also thought it was a touch suspicious that he left Twitter completely in November 2020. (The man had been tweeting constantly during the summer). And he was a no-show at San Diego Comic Con, after having a scheduled one-on-one - to advertise the Nevers. He did kind of make a quick appearance on Fillion's chat but that was it. The cancellation of his Zoom chat came soon after the Fisher accusations arose.

What happened? Hmmm...

* Buffy the Vampire Star Charisma Carpenter speaks out about Joss Whedon.

* To date... Sarah Michelle Gellar, Amber Bensen and Michelle Trachenberg have verified Charisma's statements

Gellar and Trachenberg did it on Instagram - neither are on Twitter. Amber Bensen and Charisma posted it on Twitter.

Gellar and Trachenberg's Instagram posts:
( Read more... )

Charisma's on Twitter - which sheds more light on the pregnancy bit than we knew. ( the story I was told back in 2002 by a social media friend )

Go HERE for Carpenter's lengthy statement on Twitter.

And Amber Benson (Tara) who supports it and retweeted Charisma's with this : Buffy was a toxic environment and it starts at the top. allcharisma
is speaking truth and I support her 100%. There was a lot of damage done during that time and many of us are still processing it twenty plus years later. #IStandWithRayFisher #IStandWithCharismaCarpenter - Amber Benson
amber_benson

[Which explains why Benson refused to return to Buffy and hasn't worked with Whedon again. Nor have the others that came forward.]

And.. Wonder Woman Star Gail Gadot states she did not have the best experience with Whedon.

This is all on top of...Ray Fishers accusations about Whedon's behavior on the set of The Justice League reshoot. (Note HBO MAX is due to release the Zack Snyder cut on Justice League sometime this month.)

Ray Fisher accuses Joss Whedon of inappropriate behavior on the set of Justice League which lead to an investigation at Warner [Note Fisher's accusations came out in July, right after this, Whedon dropped out of San Diego Comic Con - he was scheduled for Q&A with Whedon. Also Whedon was supposed to be the new show-runner for DC, but they changed their mind after Justice League.]

Kai Cole comes forward with Whedon is a Hypocrite Preaching Feminist Ideals

And... The Cut - Joss Whedon's Controveries and Alleged Bad Behavior - A Guide AND Screen Rant - Whedon's abuse misconduct allegations and accusations explained.

And...sigh, I know from various Q&A'swith both the Buffy and Angel casts, along with remarks made by Whedon himself, that Whedon allowed and thought it was hilarious that David Boreanze wandered around the set flashing female cast and crew members with his penis. He didn't wear pants. He also really only did it with the women. (Marsters was shocked when Dusku and Benz were discussing it with laughter during a Q&A.)

Once again...that ever-troubling quandry, can we look past the personal actions of the writer/creator and still enjoy his/her/their art? I believe so, particularly in television - since it's collaborative and more than one voice was involved. It can be more difficult in other art forms of course. Also people are more than one thing - so an abusive person can create beautiful art - see Orson Scott Card, George RR Martin, Denis Quaid, Bruce Willis, TS Eliot , F Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Virgina Woolf, JK Rowling, Ronald Dahl, Woody Allen, Roman Polanski, Owen Tarrantino, Mel Gibson, etc.. Still it is troubling. Can we love the art, without supporting actions we despise?

I can't say any of this surprises me, as you know from reading this journal, I've known about most of this for quite some time now and struggled over the years - because it brings up a troubling dilemma.

Can you continue to love the works of an artist - who is proven to be abusive?
( lengthy musing on this dilemma - because I need to write about it...and feel better for it )

Day #328 - Field Trip

So, I got sleep. YAY. Eight hours. YAY. It made a world of difference, and was required for the field trip.

Today or rather this morning, I had to go into Crazy Workplace to pick up my security ID, my railroad transportation pass and my subway pass (aka golden ticket), which would expire soon. I really had no choice - and today was the best day weather and work wise to do it. Sunny, seasonably warm (ie in the high 20s/low 30s - felt like 30s in the sun), and no ice or snow on the roads. Oh there was snow and ice, it was just easier to maneuver around.

To do so, I had to take three trains... three on the way there, and three back again. On the way to - I did hop off the train, ran into my office, picked up transportation badge and security badge from LD, scanned a few papers to my email account, went to the bathroom and got on another train to go to the pass office, which was located in another office building a train ride away.

First train was the G Train or subway, which is very clean and everyone wore masks the way they were supposed to - but there was also on ten people in my car. On the way home, with a tad more people - about twenty-five to thirty, a couple didn't know how to wear their masks correctly.



I exited subway at Fort Green -( here )

[On the way back I took photos of Fort Green]

]

And then boarded the commuter train to Jamaica.
( train to Jamaica )

Nostrand Avenue Train Station - as seen from my window-
( Nostrand Avenue Train Station )