CAN YOU 'DO IT'?

     Can you do it?  Can you separate the artist from his/her art?  There was a recent exchange between Jerry Seinfeld and Stephen Colbert on Colbert's show (actually one of the few bright spots on the program lately)  where Colbert asked Seinfeld who some of his comedy idols were.  When he said he loved Bill Cosby you could hear a pin drop in the Ed Sullivan Theater.  Seinfeld continued by saying the he memorized all of Cosby's classic albums and that he thought he was influenced by Cosby.  Colbert said that he just couldn't listen to Cosby's comedy anymore after all of the sexual abuse allegations came out in the news.  Seinfeld replied by saying something about never really linking the two 'acts' (his comedy and his private behavior) together in his mind.  In my opinion, he was being open and honest; not flippant.
     Do people always link the artist and his/her personal life from their public business model?  Should we?  They say that tragedy plus time equals comedy.  Both Bob Hope and Johnny Carson were comedy icons.  Would it shock you if I said that they were also adultery icons?  Were they just a 'product of their times'?  I often hear verified tales about the era where it was fine to pinch a woman's posterior as they walked past a man's office space.  I understand that some men felt they were giving the woman high praise (or much more in some cases).  I also understand that some women actually took it that way (or much more in some cases).
      In today's highly sensitized society, it seems that both Hope and Carson would be publicly lambasted, be told to go away but yet somehow come back at a time of our choosing and made to do the 'walk of shame' for the rest of their lives; wearing their special version of the 'scarlet letter' for all to see.
     Do I refuse to watch Roman Polanski films because of his allegations of rape forty years ago even if the woman in question has said that she would support him being allowed to enter the U.S. again?  If he was allowed to move back, would he be placed on that list of 'sex offenders' that said Mr. Roman Polanski would be moving into your neighborhood?   How many people would move out of that neighborhood?  How many would like to move but couldn't because of financial limitations or other such 'roadblocks?' 
     I must admit that when watching the classic films 'Rosemary's Baby" or "Chinatown" I do not think 'man oh man, this rapist really knows how to crank out a fine movie!'  I also do not think about how emotionally damaged Polanski may still be after finding out his young wife who was eight months pregnant at the time was brutally murdered by a member of the notorious Manson family almost fifty years ago.   I do look at these films as works of art.  Sometimes I even forget who made them.  Did YOU know he made these movies?  However, I'm pretty sure I would think twice about watching these films if I found out that Polanski was found guilty of genocide.  But even then, I might pause to think 'Gee whiz, Nicholson is one of the greatest actors of the modern era so maybe I'll just sneak a peek at this one.'
     It's not everyday common knowledge but Volkswagen was founded by the German Labour Front which was spearheaded by none other than Adolf Hitler.  Do I hop in a Passat and wonder 'How can I drive a car from a company that was originally funded by Nazi Germany?'  I do not.
    I think it's safe to say that I believe every event or occurrence is a bit different and structurally complicated than the next and that every one of these nasty little things should be handled on a case by case basis and not simply by the court of public opinion even though most of us believes that a person is guilty until proven otherwise and thus disobeying our own system of justice in this country.
     If it is true that Mr. Cosby did actually drug and rape the women who accused him, I would be very angry and sad that a person who provided so much laughter could also be the same person who caused so much pain.  But would it change my belief that his "Noah" skit is one of the most brilliantly constructed comedy bits of all time?  It would not.