June 1st, 2021, Alex O’Connor also known as Rex Orange County was charged with sexual assault on 6 occasions. He allegedly assaulted the woman twice on June 1st, and 4 times the next day, with one of them being in a taxi, and the other 3 in his home.
Rex Orange County is a 24-year-old Indie pop singer, well known for the songs AMAZING which gained popularity through TikTok, Pluto Projector, Best Friend and Loving is Easy. The artist has grown his platform, with now over twenty-one million monthly listeners on Spotify.
Scrolling through social media, a lot of people have been sharing their personal opinions on the situation, leaving a lot of mixed hullabaloos. For example, many people have shown their tattoos of his lyrics and song titles or displayed their fan merchandise and not knowing what to do with it.
We interviewed a fan who has attended one of his concerts and owns his merchandise, to see how they felt about the situation. First, we asked: How do you feel about the situation?
They said when they first read the headline they were in shock.
“How could a person I valued, respected and put my trust into turn out to be a bad person? I felt betrayed and honestly just disappointed.”
Then, we asked: What is your opinion after reading into the situation?
They read the main articles regarding the allegations and their opinion remains the same, to believe the victim unless they’re proven otherwise. They say,
“It is possible that these could be false allegations because these things do happen to celebrities regularly, most of them just don't go public. I would love to believe them to be false, but you just have to side with the victim until more evidence arises.”
Lastly, we were very curious about whether they think his fans should be able to separate the art from the artist or simply not support his music anymore.
They believe this question doesn’t have a right or wrong answer, but they gave us their input.
”I will always love his music. They helped me through hard times and happy times, and they surround me with so many good memories.” This applies to many other fans as well.
“However, I'm going to have to get over that. By continuing to listen to his music you would be contributing to his success and his platform. Because there are so many details about the situation we don't know, it would be better to take a break and listen to some other artists in the meantime.”
Many fans are wondering what the proper thing to do is in this situation. Should we keep listening to his music but not support him as a person, or should we discontinue listening to him, as it could assist him in paying his legal fees in court?
At the end of the day, does it really make a difference if someone stops listening to his music? O’Conner already has all the money in the world from touring, selling records and merchandise to pay his legal fees. Just because he acted in an immoral way, does that mean all his music is bad?
On the other hand, is it truly possible to separate the artist from his art? What he did is not justifiable and thinking about his actions could alter the experience of listening to his songs. The thought of giving him streams communicates that we, as his fans, support what he did, when we don’t.
In conclusion… what is the conclusion? Should fans separate O’Conner as a person from his art, or should fans stay clear of his music? Honestly, it kind of depends on who you’re asking. There are so many different stances you can take on this situation, so it’s completely up to you.
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