We often assume that talent and goodness go hand in hand — that someone who creates beautiful music, inspiring words, or revolutionary technology must also be a kind, admirable person. But history repeatedly shows that brilliance and decency don’t necessarily coexist. talent and personality are entirely separate; genius in art, leadership, or innovation tells us nothing about empathy, ethics, or decency.
Talent is part luck and part skill; morality is a choice.
Take John Lennon for example. He was born almost exactly 85 years ago, on Oct 9th, and some consider the guy a talented musician. I think Beatles music is just a step above annoying noise but I digress. In reality, Lennon was a despicable human being, a wife beater, a violent man who abandoned his first son and often made fun of disabled people. You didn’t know that about him, did you? He sang about not having any material possessions while has was a millionaire. Upstanding morality…
How about Mahatma Gandhi, the champion of non-violent resistance? The man was a racist and a pedophile, who preferred to sleep with very young girls.
Then there is Michael Jackson, “the king of pop”, do you remember him? He revolutionized music and dance but faced serious allegations of child abuse, he was clearly a big fan of very young boys and regularly slept with them in the same bed. 
A grown man with underage boys in the same bed? Curious at least….
Do you remember Charlie Chaplin? Have you ever seen any of his movies? Supposedly a comic genius, but had a history of manipulative relationships with underage women, he married his second wife at the age of 16! He sure liked ‘em young…
Let’s switch to technology. Steve Jobs. You must know him if you have an Apple product. He is considered a revolutionary innovator, while the guy couldn’t write a single line of computer code. He was an absolute disgrace, an appalling human being and a thief.
He cheated his best friend out of money, refused to pay child support to his ex-girlfriend and was a control freak and a horrible boss. Yet people somehow idolize him. He was clearly a psychopath in a turtle neck.
Of course there is more, the line is long of people who were supposed to be nice, decent, trustworthy but in reality were abhorrent. A lot of the Catholic priests come to mind who have been accused of pedophilia, over 3,000 of them actually….
But that’s another story for another time.
These examples remind us that brilliance in one area doesn’t equate to moral goodness. Idolizing someone for a single extraordinary ability blinds us to the full truth of who they are. Admire the art, respect the innovation but always separate the talent from the person behind it. Alex