Art and Celebrity Crimes

Celebrities capture our attention and admiration. For good or bad, we look to them to set trends, to be our role models, and we even listen to their opinions on matters where they have no expertise like the environment, politics and medical science.

They bring excitement, joy and distraction to our lives in the form of film, music, dance and the visual arts. But what should we do about celebrities who commit egregious crimes? Film director Roman Polanski raped a thirteen year old girl. Wesley Snipes beat Halle Berry so severely that she has hearing loss in her left ear. R. Kelly was arrested on charges of assault and child pornography.

Should we hold celebrities to a higher standard of ethics and behavior due to their prominence in society? Should they be scorned in public or should we treat their crimes as private matters? Can we still appreciate their art, or should we boycott them for such behavior?

Excerpt

Celebrities capture our attention and admiration. For good or bad, we look to them to set trends, to be our role models, and we even listen to their opinions on matters where they have no expertise like the environment, politics and medical science. Should we hold celebrities to a higher standard of ethics and behavior due to their prominence in society? Should they be scorned in public or should we treat their crimes as private matters? Can we still appreciate their art, or should we boycott them for such behavior?

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