all in the hot seat

Latest on the list of accused sexual harassers: James Franco (very vaguely and obliquely accused by Ally Sheedy on Twitter right after his Golden Globes win), Michael Douglas (who vehemently denies any wrongdoing), Corey Feldman (who was waging his own campaign against sexual harassers), and—horrors—95-year-old Stan Lee (accused of being grabby and verbally salacious with caregivers, as well as walking around naked in front of them). It's that last one that shocks me: ol' Uncle Stan seemed like the nicest, most harmless guy in the world. Here's hoping the accusations aren't true; I've read that Lee is fighting back and refusing to knuckle under. It'd be a shame to see him airbrushed out of all those Marvel movies (now that Orwellian airbrushing seems to be a thing).

One thing to keep in mind is that it's possible to separate the artist from the art, the performer from the performance. An absolutely evil individual can, in theory, create an absolutely stellar, moving painting. Separating the agent from the action is important so as not to commit a form of the genetic fallacy (much discussed on this blog—here, for example). You don't have to stop watching Miramax movies because you hate Harvey Weinstein.