Ian Watkins

Most people can agree that Ian Watkins (front-man of Lost Prophets) is a member of the human race that is better off in prison than out in society. However, should we judge his choices in life to be parallel to the music he made? Should his actions be reflected in his lyrics, or can we listen without thinking of his disgraceful actions? For those of you that don't know, Ian Watkins was a paedophile with several rape and attempted rape allegations, along with accounts of distributing child pornography. This, in my eyes makes him a disgusting, and irrelevant part of the world, but should his bands' music be so harshly judged for his actions? As many will know, the band split up just months after he was convicted. This could be seen as understandable by people that view the whole band as a reflection of him, however they lost their entire livelihoods, gave up their professions and what had been their lives for a long time. And for what? Someone else's acts. This view is the one I am concerned about, as they did nothing wrong, yet were effectively forced to give up the thing they love. Not only that, but as I mentioned above, many of their fans feel that they can no longer listen to their music due to the thoughts it provokes. 

My question then is this, should we (those who enjoyed Lost Prophet's music) stop listening to them in fear that we may be seen as supporting a rapist and a criminal, or ignore the part of Watkins that landed him in prison, and listen for the good times, and for the simple fact that they played good music. Not just him, but all of them.