Pictured: Attractive celebrities/Middle East Ambassadors Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz
It has happened to all of us before. One day, you’re waiting for your favorite celebrity’s new movie to come out. Then, suddenly, you find out that they are some sort of racist, homophobic, perverted alcoholic. They need to recover. And so do you.
Recently, Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz (along with a slew of other Spanish celebrities) signed an open letter condemning Israel’s recent actions in Gaza. While some agreed with the content of the letter, others thought that they placed an unfair amount of blame on Israel. Bardem and Cruz later clarified their thoughts on the issue.*
Recently, I was reminded of Mel Gibson’s decade old anti-Semitic rant when my dad told me that Mel Gibson movies were banned from our household. That’s a bummer, given that I was only 20 minutes into Lethal Weapon 2.
These two occurrences are just a few of many that have reminded me that lately, the views of some of my favorite celebrities do not necessarily line up with my own. Once I hear that any celebrity thinks differently than me, watching their work can sometimes feel odd. But I don’t want to give up on them just because of their political views or their crazy personal lives. There has to be a separation of art from the artist. This is a topic that we could debate about for hours.
I have decided to put together a list of questions, thoughts, and possible answers to this topic. Here is what you should or should not do once you find out that your favorite celebrity is a jerk: