Credit: Wikimedia Commons
I admit it: I am an unabashed fan of R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet," an absurdly entertaining "hip-hopera" that involves Kelly dramatically sing-narrating an over-the-top short film involving infidelity, accidental murder and a spatula-wielding nosy neighbor named Rosie. I even recently went to a sing-along showing of the film in Oakland, California, surely one of the only cities in the country where such a thing would or could exist.
I did all this despite the sobering fact that I know full well about R. Kelly's past in child pornography. And in retrospect, I feel pretty decidedly icky about supporting someone who's actions I so strongly oppose . . .and yet, that damn sing-along did much to ameliorate said guilt.
Anyway, I was reminded of this latent self-reproach when it was revealed today that R. Kelly was booted from the Ohio Music Festival as a result of outcry over his past misdeeds. And those misdeeds—we should stop to remind you right here—are indeed pretty alarming.
In addition to the infamous leaked videotape of R. Kelly pissing on an underage girl—which lives on in infamy thanks to the likes of Dave Chappelle and Macklemore—the singer has been charged with beating one man so badly, he required 110 facial stitches, and in separate incidents involving sexual dalliances with girls as young as 15.
Dastardly as R. Kelly's deeds are, he's hardly the only star with a sketchy past—or the only one who's been forgiven by the public for acting like a lout. Mel Gibson's raging anti-Semitism hasn't stopped him from landing major movie roles, including a featured part in the upcoming Expendables 3, and domestic abuser and all-around scoundrel Chris Brown is dropping a new album this fall.
The common defense is that we should be able to separate a person from the art he or she produces. There's also the question of how long we should punish someone for something they may be working to change about themselves. In R. Kelly's case, that pesky peeing incident took place all the way back in 2002. Isn't forgiveness a noble thing?
But I wonder if the real reason we're quick to absolve A-listers has less to do with a righteous capacity to forgive, and more to do with primal selfishness. The fact is, if we want to enjoy a Chris Brown album, or a Mel Gibson film, or a ridiculous R. Kelly video, we're going to find any excuse to do so—even if that means financially supporting and implicitly condoning those artists' unethical behavior. Our desire for personal pleasure trumps a social need for justice.
Deciding when it's the right time to forgive someone is subjective and complex, and personally, I will continue to feel guilty for supporting R. Kelly, even though its been several years since he was charged with child pornography—in part because of how disturbing I find his offenses to be. The bottom line is that we should be careful to assess whether we excuse celebs because of a genuine belief in forgiveness and the capacity for change . . . or because we really, really enjoy the art they produce.
