The last thing any Twitter user would expect to see in 2018 is a photo of Kanye West in a Make America Great Again hat and a Twitter interaction between West and President Trump.

But that’s what happened this week, as West returned to Twitter, reigniting the debate over separating the artist’s work from the kind of person he or she is. When people become fans of an artist’s work — whether it be an actor, singer, or painter — paying attention to that artist’s political views or problematic actions is not always a top priority.

Sometimes, though, an artist becomes outspoken, and then fans have to decide whether or not to let those views influence their opinion of the artist’s work. Conservatives regularly find themselves in that situation with liberal Hollywood actors or musicians.

Since many artists are liberal, fans on the left don’t learn that their favorites are problematic very often. For West, though, it’s different. This is an artist who once claimed that President George W. Bush did not care about black people, so it definitely came as a shock for his fans to see his support of President Trump, who has come under attack for statements and policies that have been called hostile to people of color.

Separating artists from their political views or problematic actions can be difficult, but art imitates life, and an artist’s art comes directly from the mind and the beliefs of the artist.

It is very easy for some liberal fans to argue that revered artists in the past have held views that are much worse than West’s support of Trump, but social media was not around during Pablo Picasso’s misogyny, T.S. Eliot’s anti-Semitism, or Richard Wagner’s racism. Because there wasn’t social media or a way of mass communicating opinions about problematic artists, most of those artists’ actions went unnoticed. But giving modern artists today a pass because of the lack of social awareness in the past isn’t acceptable.

A fan cannot separate the work from the artist because an artist’s work is a direct representation and mirror of their beliefs. Further, supporting the work of an artist who has morally troublesome beliefs is, of course, supporting the artist. Therefore, the artists gain from the support despite their beliefs or actions.

Further complicating this particular issue are questions about West’s sincerity, and the tendency of fans to forget over time.

There is the possibility that all of the controversy surrounding his Twitter account could be a tactic to promote his upcoming album. Even if it isn’t a promotion tactic, several months from now West could change his views on Trump.

Meanwhile, more than 9 million of West’s fans unfollowed him on Twitter and some pledged to delete his music from their libraries. But come the day of his album release, at least some of those 9 million will find their way back to his music.

Clearly, West’s sudden support of Trump has left some fans confused and upset, but the story may be far from over.