Recently, former TV star Bill Cosby was convicted on three counts of sexual assault. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled, but it is estimated that he could get 30 to life. Most can agree that sexual assault is a terrible crime and the evidence against Cosby was enough to convict him of it. He has hurt several lives, more than just those he assaulted, including their friends and family, and he deserves whatever sentence he gets if not more. However, we are doing one thing wrong when it comes to issues like these.

Ever since the first accusation against Cosby, even before the trial, reruns of the Cosby show and all of his other big hits stopped running. Television channels were essentially condemning him for such a crime and not condoning people like him. My question is, even if someone does something awful, when they create art, is the art independent, or is the art part of the artist? For example, the German composer Richard Wagner was a racist and sexist german nationalist, but classically trained musicians like myself still play his music because it is incredibly well done. Why should cases like Cosby’s be any different?

Not only do I believe that great art should be celebrated-regardless of the artist’s poor choices- but I also believe that by not showing shows like the Cosby Show, we are hurting other people. Television shows are collaborative by nature. Stars on the Cosby show like Lisa Bonet and Phylicia Rashad are missing out on royalties and other benefits from reruns of the Cosby show simply because of one person’s poor choices. By doing this, we are letting Cosby’s poor choices negatively affect even more people.

Now, let's be real. Obviously, there are going to be people who would boycott Cosby's work in the unlikely event that it was to be aired somewhere again. However, there are people who are fans of his work, even if they are not fans of him. The art is connected to the artist, but the art isn't the artist itself. One's art should live, even if the artist should not. By not showing his shows, we are letting Cosby's poor choice create more victims by robbing other stars and the writers and crew of every program Cosby was part of from royalties and benefits, and I think that should change.