By Charlotte Graham

Generally speaking, people can find a way to excuse almost any beloved figure of almost anything. For example, does anyone still talk about all the different women who have accused Bill Cosby, national treasure himself, of rape and sexual abuse? Or how about Sean Penn, advocate of human rights and the environment. Does anyone remember those domestic abuse charges Madonna filed against him? We’re not talking about murder, here — O.J. Simpson is certainly not as admired as he once was as the football hero of yore. But if the crime doesn’t have a dead body as evidence and if you follow it up with some critically acclaimed work, a few awards here and there, and some very good press, some famous people can get people to forget about most anything. But what happens when possibly the most heinous crime — if you can even compare atrocities and rank them — is committed by an artist? What happens when pedophilia comes into focus?

Society is disgusted by pedophilia, and the mere allegation of sexually abusing a child can change a person’s life forever. But it gets complicated when artists who are already adored and revered are accused of such an unspeakable act. TMZ recently broke news that Stephen Collins, the formerly squeaky-clean 7th Heaven patriarch, confessed to child molestation during a therapy session.

Though the New York Times it is not, TMZ delivered a truth that outed the 7th Heaven star (he rather ironically played a pastor) as a pedophile of the first degree. In the audiotape, Collins admits to sexually abusing a child 41 years ago. In fact, the full crime concerns three different cases of sexual abuse. Collins reportedly informed his soon-to-be-ex-wife that he had committed sexual acts with at least three girls as young as 11. The public’s reaction to this scandal was entirely fair: the actor was outcast by Hollywood and by his audience immediately. Reruns of 7th Heaven were taken off the air, Seth MacFarlane’s Ted sequel and Scandal dropped Collins, and the actor was fired from the Screen Actors Guild board as a manner of pouring salt in the very much deserved wound.

So, we have a confession, an outraged reaction, and absolutely no doubt in the truthfulness of the accusations. But do we have any jail time? No. Prosecution of Collins is barred by the statute of limitations of the case. In addition to this, a victim of Collins’ who contacted TMZ has stated that she will not sue her abuser, as her sole purpose was in encouraging others like her to speak out. This woman explicitly described some of his abuse, stating that Collins would “touch and rub on her” and expose himself to her. Though Collins won’t see a jail cell, at least he’ll be vilified for the rest of his life.

With such indubitable charges from first-hand accounts, it is easy to see why Collins’ community of fans hasn’t dared to make excuses for him. However, it is not just the clear-cut nature of this case that has allowed for this kind of backlash against the previously popular actor. A great deal of the reason why Collins has not been defended is because of his lack of artistic importance. Sure, Collins was the star of a highly regarded and deeply moral show — but he was only a part of the whole. Hating Collins doesn’t mean hating 7th Heaven; it means hating pedophilia. And having a few seasons of a dead television show ruined by knowledge of his crimes is a small price to pay. It starts to get foggy, however, when the accused is an artist, a creator whose crimes are difficult to separate from their creations. This is when excuses are made, and this is when the reaction to such a disgusting act as pedophilia becomes pretty muddied.

The most recent example of this is Woody Allen. But first, let’s revisit the story of Roman Polanski. The critically acclaimed director raped a 13-year-old girl in 1977. Not only did Polanski admit to the crime, he actually formally pleaded guilty in court and was thus charged with unlawful sex with a minor. You would think it couldn’t get any more black and white than this, but 37 years later, Polanski has still not spent time in jail. He fled the United States and eventually settled in France to avoid his sentencing. So where is the abandonment of Polanski akin to that of Collins? Why does Chinatown still play in reruns today? More importantly, why have enough people happily agreed to work with Polanski again and again?

The Pianist, a film he made made 25 years after the scandal, won three Academy Awards, including a Best Director for Polanski. Somehow, critics and audiences alike have been able to overlook Polanski’s crime and lack of punishment, because of one obvious difference between him and the scandalized Stephen Collins: Polanski’s stuff is just so good.

Then there’s Woody Allen, whose allegations of pedophilia resurfaced earlier this year when his daughter Dylan Farrow wrote an open letter to the New York Times about the abuse she suffered at his hands. People still went to see Blue Jasmine. People still loved it. Critics still loved it. Allen has subsequently and vehemently denied the molestation, and several members of the former Farrow-Allen family have taken both Farrow and Allen’s side in the conflict. It is fair to say in this case, even in light of Farrow’s detailing of the abuse, that there is at least some room for Allen’s fans to doubt the allegations. Allen’s own son Moses has defended his father. But Mia Farrow, her and Allen’s son Ronan, and (let’s not forget) Dylan herself have all asserted the validity of the child abuse claims. Even so, for a regular man to be accused of touching his daughter is for a regular man to have the grossness of the act cast on him forever, even in lacking evidence. Yet Allen has been given excuses and excuses, and some awards, too.

In cases such as this, it has often been asked: should the art be separated from the artist? But, the better question is actually: can the art be separated from the artist? Of course it would be lovely to live in a world in which you can enjoy Annie Hall without thinking about all the gross and vile things it’s director and protagonist has apparently done. But can you really do that? Apparently, the world has decided that 7th Heaven can’t be enjoyed due to the charges against one of it’s actors. So why are Allen and Polanski accepted? Because their art is too beautiful, too relatable, too inseparable from it’s creator. The world doesn’t want to like a film made by a pedophile if they like the film enough, so their pedophilia is ignored. Unfortunately, this means that countless voiceless and faceless victims of child abuse are being ignored as well.

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