In especially egregious cases, it may be difficult to separate artists from their creative work. In recent news, high-profile actors such as Bill Cosby and Kevin Spacey have been accused of sexual assault, and consequently, television networks have pulled their shows from their channels. However, not every instance of celebrity controversy carries the same concrete solution. Although Kanye West has been scrutinized for his public support of Donald Trump and other conservative figures on Twitter, this is far less destructive than the actions of other celebrities who harass or assault. If celebrities are merely expressing their own opinions without harming others, they should not receive such a high level of criticism.

The Kanye West Twitter drama seemingly appeared without warning. Beginning on April 21, West expressed his support for the views of conservative figure Candace Owens, who conveyed disappointment at modern African-American sentiments toward historical slavery and oppression at a discussion with Black Lives Matter protesters.

“Victim mentality is not cool,” said Owens. “I don’t know why people like being oppressed. It’s the weirdest thing I ever heard: ‘I love oppression. We’re oppressed. 400 years of slavery, Jim Crow.’ Which, by the way, none of you guys lived through. Your grandparents did.”

West expanded upon his support for Owens’ views later, tweeting that “self-victimization is a disease,” that “there was a time when slavery was the trend and apparently that time is still upon us. But now it’s a mentality,” and that “constantly bringing up the past keeps you stuck there.”

These tweets seem to imply that West believes slavery was a state of mind, and that many slaves were trapped by their mental rather than physical circumstances. Subsequently, there was much public outcry regarding these statements.

“In this country, words matter,” said teacher Mike Williams. “If you say ‘slavery was a choice’ with no explanation, people will take it at face value.”

The controversy intensified later, when West came out in a seeming show of support for President Donald Trump.

“We are both dragon energy,” said West. “He is my brother. I love everyone. I don’t agree with everything anyone does. That’s what makes us individuals. And we have the right to independent thought.”

This statement may seem strange to some, as West has a poor history of dealing with conservative presidents, as with the wake of the 2005 Hurricane Katrina, at which time West famously claimed that then-President Bush “doesn’t care about black people.”

This history, as well as themes in many of West’s songs about the oppression that he has faced, has observers scratching their heads about the basis of West’s sudden tweetstorm. Some have hypothesized that West is merely drawing attention to himself in order to spread awareness of his upcoming album to be released in June, while it appears to others that West has had a true change of heart.

“I’m of the mindset that [attracting controversy] is a bit of a cynical move to get coverage in the press,” said West fan and senior Daniel Israel. “We’ve known that Kanye likes to stir up controversy, especially before dropping a new album. I think that Kanye could be attracted to Trump based on personality more than anything. I think that when it comes to policy, he doesn’t really know anything.”

This public airing of his opinions has caused flared tempers and mixed reception, with many in the music community divided; some, such as John Legend, have counseled West against further support of Trump, while others, such as Chance the Rapper, have argued that West is entitled to his own opinions.

In retrospect, high-profile celebrities who publicly declare support for a controversial political cause should be prepared for the inevitable backlash associated with it. While on the 49ers football team, quarterback Colin Kaepernick was catapulted into the national spotlight for kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality throughout the nation, with special emphasis on African-American victims. The resulting controversy endured for weeks, and may have had permanent damaging effects on Kaepernick’s career; since March 2017, he has remained unsigned in free agency.

This begs the question of whether or not private citizens expressing their opinions should be subject to such intense levels of scrutiny. Previously, artists such as Cosby and Spacey were examples of the level of harm that should warrant national outcry, not because a celebrity had done it, but because what they did is repulsive on a basic, human level. However, the actions of such celebrities as Kaepernick or, in this more recent instance, West, do not meet such criteria. Were West the average U.S. citizen, very few would care if he were to opine one way or another on social media; he would be a voice lost among many. Due to the permanent spotlight placed upon him as a celebrity, however, his statements have been magnified in proportion, and conflict has arisen over what should be merely a man and his thoughts.

Some argue that as a representative of the African-American community, West’s words should be more seriously considered, as they bear greater weight. However, in making these statements, West was not seeking to represent African-Americans in their entirety. In the past, great African-Americans such as W.E.B. Du Bois and Martin Luther King, Jr. made sweeping statements of hopes for blacks in America in their capacity as leaders of the Civil Rights movement. West, however, is neither seeking such a role in making these statements, nor is such a leader even necessary in the modern age with the relative equalizing of civil rights.

Furthermore, one should view an artist’s personal life as separate from his or her work. Indeed, such criminals as Cosby and Spacey are, rightly, difficult to separate from their work. For artists such as West, however, his actions are not inherently insulting on a basic human level; thus, it should not be undoable to keep his persona and his music separated in the mind.

“I think it’s definitely a gray area,” said Israel. “Many artists have done bad things, like Michael Jackson. I think particularly in hip-hop, where you’re listening to somebody rap about their experiences and life history, it’s extremely difficult to separate the artists and the art.”

In the wake of the controversy, West has not made any more overtly political statements, although he has posted philosophical musings in the same vein as his previous tweets. However, West should not be cowed by this strong showing of opposition to his statements; though controversial, his opinion remains that of a single man, with no more or less weight attached to it. Thus, he should not be afraid to let his thoughts be known to the world.