I've been feeling very conflicted recently because I got into some media that I really liked and it became my hyperfixation, but then I found out that the creator has done bad things and hasn't apologised as far as I know and continues to hold harmful beliefs. I'm scared to share anything that I like about the work itself on Tumblr, even if I add a disclaimer saying I don't support the creator, in case I still get attacked over it, or if people think I'm still harming certain minorities, or if they think the disclaimer isn't enough and is just me using it as a free pass to post what I want regardless of who it might hurt even if it's indirect. And I feel like it's selfish of me to want to do that as well. Or am I just overthinking things?

I've been looking around on Tumblr a lot, especially when it comes to a certain book series (which ironically I was never really interested in but I understand the appeal and why it might be other people's hyperfixation), and some people are saying it's alright to like it as long as you make it clear you don't agree with the creator, while other people are saying you should completely drop it or only enjoy it in private.

I also feel this way about music, there are several songs I like that are by people with bad opinions, and I've always been afraid to share those in any playlists I share in case people think that means I agree with them as well.

There's a huge debate on whether you can or should separate the art from the artist, and the content from the creator. I really just want to know what other people think of this.

I'm still a huge fan of the world of Harry Potter. I love the books, the movies, the whole everything about it. But its creator...I just can not support her anymore with the things she's said about trans people. I will always love the world she created, but I do not support her anymore. If people hate me for still liking Harry Potter, so be it. I don't like She-who-will-not-be-named and that's all that matters.

That's an attitude I would like to see more of. I'm just anxious because not everyone feels that way. It's fine if people can't or don't want to enjoy a problematic creator's work anymore, but they shouldn't attack other people who still do even if they do so in a way that doesn't give the creators more money and they make it clear that they don't agree with them.

My main worry is that if I post anything about this thing I like (which isn't HP but has the similarity of the creator being transphobic), people might think I'm trying to promote it, and that I'm hurting the affected minorities. Even if I put a disclaimer about the creator being a bad person and that I don't agree with them, that won't stop it from getting attention that most people would prefer it didn't get.

But I realised that the only thing I really want to post about is my favourite character, since I can't find any other posts about them, so I feel like I'll be satisfied if I make just one post to gush about my favourite (while still including the disclaimers and warnings and stuff) and then not post anything else about it if it really makes people uncomfortable.

I'm pretty much of the same opinion as Lisa.

I enjoy the stories of H.P. Lovecraft (if I didn't, I wouldn't have a pet named Shoggoth). Was he a horrible person? Yes. Very much so. But I don't share his views, I don't condone his views (we will not talk about what his favorite cat was named, even if that same cat's name is featured in my favorite of his short stories. I ignore its presence. It's a terrible, awful name).

No matter what you do, someone will be offended. Make the disclaimer, and leave it at that. If people attack you, ignore them, block them, whatever. You don't owe them anything if you already had a disclaimer. (I like to point out that Hitler was vegetarian and famously had German Shepherd Dogs. Does that mean I can't like GSDs, or that all vegetarians are horrible people, guilty by association? Of course not; that's ridiculous, and most people would agree, but then we have stuff like this happening where people are afraid to express interest in something simply because the creator is problematic)

Liking anything created by others will ALWAYS carry the implication you support the person and/or the views they hold. But through all of creation and the bad humans behind some well loved things comes the fans of the product. Liking a thing does not mean we support the person or their personal views/actions. A few prime examples would be obviously the HP world vs the author. We love the magic and charm of the story, we don't love the outright disregard for the LGBT+ that she proclaimed. In music the group The Lost Prophets made a song that resonated with many, most of us being teens/young 20s when it came out. Fans support the songs message but certainly don't condone the singer being found out as a pedo. Take the movie Rosemary's Baby. Considered a centerpiece for a must watch horror movie list, but we want him brought to justice for his actions on minors and for making himself a fugitive. There's many more out there than these. You can enjoy the product without supporting the bad people. Make the disclaimer simple "I support x thing but do NOT support bad persons views"

In one of my Craft & Theory classes in graduate school, a classmate of mine wrote a personal essay about this very problem (among others, she specifically wrote about how Bill Cosby was a huge personality in her childhood and how much she adored him, only to learn much later about the terrible things he did). We spent some time as a class discussing whether it's possible to divorce an artist's work from the artist's personal life. I don't recall if we came to a conclusion or what that would have been - this was about 4 years ago - but I've also experienced this, and it's not easy to navigate. I think the experience is different for everyone, and is something you'll have to work out for yourself, although of course adding various social media platforms to the mix complicates things because you're concerned about presenting a version of yourself to others that might conflict with your values.

Like , I'm a fan of Lovecraft, but find his explicit and implicit worldviews problematic, especially when I consider including his work in the classes I teach. Fortunately, in an academic setting, I can use it as an opportunity to talk about how literature and cultural norms have changed in the past century and how certain theories of literary criticism allow us to compare our interpretation of Lovecraft's work with that of his original audiences.

Another example: I was an obsessive Hanson fanatic in the late 90s through about 2015, but in recent years it's become obvious (and considering their background, I shouldn't be surprised) through various slips on social media that their family holds harmful views (Mackenzie waving an American flag on Instagram with a gun slung over his shoulder, and Isaac bashing the BLM movement on Twitter, Zac expressing disgust toward trans people, etc.) These things have disheartened me and made it difficult for me to listen to their music anymore - it feels like I'm seeing the true colors of a longtime friend, and there's an element of grief in the feeling that I now need to disengage with them. I don't think I would look poorly upon people who still buy tickets to their shows or join their membership club just because I find it difficult to extricate the artist from the art, but I definitely understand that this is a complex issue you're struggling with.

Tumblr, in my experience of being on there for years, is not the greatest source for being impartial about certain topics. They're either wildly for something or wildly against and you're likely to not find the actual information without a certain degree of either extreme bias.

But I'm also coming from a topic/viewpoint of having been in one of the "elder" fandoms and a lot of people recently went absolutely bat-crap insane. So...

There's always a certain point where it's a case of what do you want to put up with, where you want your own morals and such to end and how much bs will you tolerate to enjoy something. I recently reached my limit.

But if it's like that new Harry Potter game? The creator is a TERF. Nothing will change that beyond them being active about changing that and even then, it's still based on another TERF's writing. I feel, as someone trans/nonbinary, I can no longer consume that media without compromising my own beliefs on the matter.

That's my two cents. I hope it helps some.