Tell Me Something Tuesday was hosted by Rainy Day Ramblings, but she has (temporarily?) stopped blogging. So a group of us that had been doing posts (Linda from Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell, Karen from For What It’s Worth, Roberta from Offbeat YA, Jen from That’s What I’m Talking About and me) decided to get together, come up with some more topics and keep the meme going.Michelle made us a logo and we’re off and running. For more details, check out this post where I reintroduced the meme.
I can be sporadic, but when I do join in I will always share next week’s topic at the end of the post. So, today is about…
Do authors/narrators actions, political beliefs, etc impact your view of their work?
Ok, this may be controversial but my answer is YES. Absolutely. It has separated me from a few authors and narrators actually.
I understand the work is separate from the person and can be enjoyed that way. I won’t judge you for enjoying an author/narrator that I can’t get behind because I do get that.
For me, I stand pretty strongly by my convictions and to financially support someone who’s actions or beliefs are something that I find abhorrent… I cant’ do that. Notice I said abhorrent. This isn’t a matter of simple disagreement. I’m okay with that. I’m talking if I knew them personally, I would have a serious problem with them levels of difference. Some examples… I will not call out the authors and/or narrators because that’s just not my place. If you’ve been around, you probably know who I’m talking about anyway:
- The narrator of a series I loved and in large part BECAUSE I absolutely found his voice drop dead sexy was involved in an affair with a minor. And I’m not talking “oops my bad, I thought she was older” but met her at his child’s school function. No excuse and absolutely abhorrent behavior for me. And to the degree that he was found guilty in a court of law, so it’s beyond hearsay. So I swore off that narrator and planned to continue reading the series, but no longer listening. But then, the author defended him. She tried to backpedal (I’m sure at the advice of her publisher/agent/lawyers) but for me, the damage was done. So even though I loved the series, wanted to know where it was going, and it would have been one I reread, owned multiple copies of, etc… I was done. I can’t financially support that.
- The author of a series that I will forever adore has made some very hurtful transphobic comments. I was shocked that someone who had built a world that taught inclusivity and acceptance could be so hurtful. While I will not stop loving the series and I will reread it, any future support of the author is something I have a hard time with. For me, this is slightly different than the above, since it’s an ideology about a very complex topic versus something that is just very black and white (you do not have affairs with your child’s classmates). So my stepping away from the work is also less intense.
That’s just a couple extreme examples. I had one author that it took me a while to get rid of a bad taste in my mouth about because of some pretty hurtful exchanges they made (including threats of legal action) that were clearly wrong. The fact that the author apologized and realized they were in the wrong did soften me to the point that I have now read and enjoyed some of their work. But their place as a prominent author attacking a newer author without due diligence and checking the comments of their fan base made me pause.
I’ll stop there. Clearly for me, authors and narrators are making themselves public figures by choosing to sell their work for public consumption. As such, what they say and do matters, because they influence others and have the capacity to either uplift or harm on a grander scale.
Omg, euwww! Who is that narrator? I do not want to listen to him ever
It was Phil Gigante, he narrated the Fever series. And his once sexy voice disgusts me now 🤢
I have the same feelings you had about that narrator. I also won’t support the author that stood by him and shamed the teen that was involved. She was also extremely rude to her fans who were disgusted by his actions. I will never read her ever again either. I tried the transphobic author and just never could get into her books (I know I’m very weird in that aspect). I tried the books and movies multiple times and couldn’t get into them. I will never attempt anything by her again.
I do love this topic so much.
Of course I know who the second story is about, but the first one was new to me, and…the author defending a pedophile?!? WTF?!?
I absolutely agree with your point. In the old times, it was easy to separate the art from the artist, because it was rare that we got to know anything about them (unless they chose to include controversial views in their art). Now, not only they’re public figures, but they have platforms where they make their opinions known. I can deal with simple opinions to an extent, but when they hurt other people, I don’t care if they don’t do it directly via their art. They’re dead to me.
YEP. If we have different political views, but the author isn’t out there spreading hate or supporting criminal behavior, then so be it. I also have banned authors from my ever-read-list if they bully other authors or misrepresent themselves in a horrific way.
I answer yes to this question, too, and , like you, it’s not just b/c of differing opinions- or, let’s say not just for the occasional expressing of differing opinions in a non-stabby life-threatening way. 😉
Yes, I feel the same way.
But if they just don’t agree with the same things I do, that’s not a factor for me. They have to intentionally be abusive, abrasive or mean for me to stop reading them.
I once had an author call my pet rats vermin and ew. Yeah, I stopped reading her. You don’t talk down about someone’s pets.
I don’t know who the narrator is you’re speaking off but that’s so gross. Also can’t believe an author would defend that sort of person. That’s crazy to me!
And I know who you are talking about with the second example (I think most people know about it by now) and I’ve dropped all support for them too. For me it was easier since I wasn’t super into the books but I did love the world they had created in general. Books or nostalgia are not more important than the lives of trans people.