{"url":"https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/10/11/17933686/me-too-separating-artist-art-johnny-depp-woody-allen-louis-ck","title":"Art by monsters: separate or skip?","domain":"vox.com","imageUrl":"https://images.pexels.com/photos/12559287/pexels-photo-12559287.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&h=650&w=940","pexelsSearchTerm":"metoo","category":"Culture","language":"en","slug":"d7e1f2d7","id":"d7e1f2d7-4095-40d4-b2b3-50d645f35efa","description":"Vox article grapples with enjoying art by artists accused of abuse amid #MeToo, like Johnny Depp in *Edward Scissorhands*.","summary":"## TL;DR\n- Vox article grapples with enjoying art by artists accused of abuse amid #MeToo, like Johnny Depp in *Edward Scissorhands*.\n- \"Separate the artist from the art\" stems from New Criticism but gets challenged by postmodern reader agency and context views.\n- No universal fix exists; people mix theory, emotion, and boycotts to decide what to consume.\n\n## The story at a glance\nConstance Grady examines the tension between loving art and learning its creator faces abuse allegations, spotlighting cases like **Johnny Depp**, **Woody Allen**, **Louis C.K.**, and others.[[1]](https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/10/11/17933686/me-too-separating-artist-art-johnny-depp-woody-allen-louis-ck)[[2]](https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/10/11/17933686/me-too-separating-artist-art-johnny-depp-woody-allen-michael-jackson-louis-ck) It critiques the mantra to separate artist from art as one limited tool among literary theories. The piece came out in fall 2018 as #MeToo revelations piled up against high-profile figures.\n\n## Key points\n- Author's love for *Edward Scissorhands* sours after **Amber Heard**'s 2016 domestic violence claims against Depp; scenes now feel off, prioritizing the abuser's vulnerability.[[1]](https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/10/11/17933686/me-too-separating-artist-art-johnny-depp-woody-allen-louis-ck)\n- Other examples include **Michael Jackson**'s *Thriller*, **Louis C.K.**'s *Louie*, **Harvey Weinstein**-backed *Shakespeare in Love*, **Woody Allen**'s *Manhattan*, and **Bill Cosby**'s *The Cosby Show*.\n- New Criticism (early 1900s, T.S. Eliot) treats art as autonomous, ignoring biography for \"scientific\" analysis; this birthed the separation idea.\n- Postmodernism (\"death of the author,\" Roland Barthes 1967) hands meaning to readers, allowing feminist reclaims of flawed works.\n- Modern critics blend history and reader power; some study toxic artists like **Ezra Pound** or **David Foster Wallace** critically, others skip them to avoid complicity in misogyny.\n- Boycotting starves predators financially, though it gets messy with streaming or old exposure.\n\n## Details and context\nThe article traces \"separate the art\" back to New Criticism's push to professionalize lit crit, making it like science by ditching author gossip. Postmodernism flips it: readers co-create, so you can wrest control from creeps like **Woody Allen** or **Roman Polanski**.[[1]](https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/10/11/17933686/me-too-separating-artist-art-johnny-depp-woody-allen-louis-ck)\n\nToday, no pure split works—art ties to its era, but you can rethink it personally. Critics like **Amy Hungerford** ditch **Wallace** because his books echo real-life abuse patterns; **Claire Hayes-Brady** says love art that speaks to you, flaws and all.\n\nBoycotts hit wallets but don't erase past cultural impact. Grady stays split on Depp: can't unlove or undisgust the film.\n\n## Key quotes\n- Josephine Livingstone on **Woody Allen** and **Polanski**: “I consider Woody Allen and Roman Polanski’s movies gifts... and I’m never giving them back... We, the viewers, do.”[[1]](https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/10/11/17933686/me-too-separating-artist-art-johnny-depp-woody-allen-louis-ck)\n- **Amy Hungerford** on skipping **David Foster Wallace**: “We’re manipulated by the text... in ways that are structurally similar to the way he manipulated the women in his life.”[[1]](https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/10/11/17933686/me-too-separating-artist-art-johnny-depp-woody-allen-louis-ck)\n\n## Why it matters\n#MeToo forces a cultural reckoning on how abuse taints beloved movies, music, and books that shaped us. Readers and fans gain tools to audit their tastes—boycott, reclaim, or analyze—without pat answers. Watch ongoing cases like Depp's lawsuits or Allen's projects for how public tastes shift.","hashtags":["#metoo","#culture","#art","#criticism","#celebrities","#ethics"],"sources":[{"url":"https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/10/11/17933686/me-too-separating-artist-art-johnny-depp-woody-allen-louis-ck","title":"Original article"},{"url":"https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/10/11/17933686/me-too-separating-artist-art-johnny-depp-woody-allen-michael-jackson-louis-ck","title":""}],"viewCount":2,"publishedAt":"2026-04-13T22:16:51.161Z","createdAt":"2026-04-13T22:16:51.161Z","articlePublishedAt":"2018-10-11T14:00:02.000Z"}