Bill Cosby. Johnny Depp. Michael Jackson. Mark Schwahn. What do all of these men have in common? They were all accused of some form of sexual assault or domestic violence.

Each one of these men produced or starred in pieces of art like “The Cosby Show,” “Cry-Baby,” “Thriller” and “One Tree Hill.” Even though these men did horrible things, you should still be able to enjoy the art they created.

It’s the artists that are monsters, not the art. You can’t hate what they made just because they did bad things.

One example is Johnny Depp and his alleged domestic abuse of his ex-wife Amber Heard.

According to Vox, Heard provided evidence of fresh, visible bruises on her face to police officers from what she said was Depp allegedly hitting her. 

This was wrong. No matter if it was true or not, domestic abuse is not okay. But just because this incident happened doesn’t mean I’ll stop watching Depp’s movies.

One of my favorite movies is “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?” which Depp stars in. I know what he was accused of was wrong, but it’s still a good movie.

Some people say they just associate the movie, music or whatever art form it is to the person who was in it. I understand that. But this shouldn’t stop you from enjoying what they made.

Learn to separate the art from the artists. If you enjoy “The Cosby Show,” then watch it. If you like Jackson’s music, then listen to it.

In the end, it’s your choice and if you enjoy the art, then you shouldn’t let what others think about that person stop you from watching it.

Another problem many people have is that they make a profit off of those shows or movies. This is understandable. What they did was wrong and they should suffer and not make a profit.

That’s fine. You don’t have to watch it, read it, listen to it or whatever else if you think they’ll make a profit.

But there’s one thing to think about- if this person was not in the movie, did not make the music or whatever it is, would you enjoy it?

If your answer is yes, then you need to reconsider your decision. You are hating the art only because of the artists and that’s not fair to the other artists who created it with good intentions.

Don’t be critical of others based on someone else’s poor decisions.

Do you remember in elementary when someone would do something bad and then everyone would get in trouble? You were pretty mad right? I know I was.

Don’t punish the other artists that made “One Tree Hill” because Schwahn was accused of sexual assault and harassment. They worked hard on it and don’t deserve to receive punishment for someone else’s actions.

Enjoy whatever makes you happy. Separate the art from the artists and realize that the art isn’t the monster; it’s the artist.