It was on a cold January day in Park City, Utah, that “The Birth of a Nation” receive a standing ovation at Sundance Film Festival before the first frame could even appear on screen. By the end of the 10-day festival, the film would take home the Grand Jury Prize in the drama category, receive the highest distribution deal in the festival’s history, at $17 million and leave everyone talking about its co-writer, director and star Nate Parker.

In the midst of the “Oscars So White” movement, Parker’s film was a breath of fresh air at Sundance. Socially conscious and timely to the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, the film centered itself on the real-life infamous slave rebellion of 1831 led by Nat Turner. “The Birth of a Nation” was many critics’ favorite to garner a Best Picture nomination, at the least, at the upcoming Academy Awards. As “The Birth of a Nation” made its nationwide debut on Oct. 7, Nate Parker was once again under the spotlight, but not for the same reasons in January.

That same spotlight illuminated some demons from Parker’s college days at Penn State, where he and his friend Jean Celestin, Parker’s co-writer on “The Birth of a Nation,”were put on trial in 1999 for sexually assaulting a fellow student. Parker was acquitted, while Celestin was found guilty and sentenced to six months in prison. In the case of the accuser, referred to as Jane Doe, she alleged that Parker and his friends harassed her on campus during the trail, which saw her attempt suicide twice as a result. In 2012, Doe committed suicide at 30 years old, while in a rehab facility, a fact Parker claimed to have learned in April 2016.

Doe’s brother, who was referred to as Johnny, spoke to Variety in August 2016 regarding the tragedies that befell his sister’s life.

“If I were to look back at her very short life and point to one moment where I think she changed as a person, it was obviously [the trial],” Johnny said in the Variety interview.

After being acquitted, Parker successfully pursued a film career, initially acting in films such as “The Great Debaters,” “Red Tails” and “Arbitrage.” In 2012, he would make the transition to directing, with “The Birth of a Nation” being his masterpiece of a debut feature-length film in 2016. Parker, excelling in each role as the film’s co-writer, director and lead actor, uses his film to comment on modern social issues through the institution of slavery; from the objectification of black women’s bodies to policing practices on Southern plantations. Its message denounces oppression and racism, while promoting black empowerment and unity; a mouthpiece for the Black Lives Matter movement.

However, in light of Parker’s past, arguably one of the most significant and relevant films in recent memory has become one of the most polarizing.

Moviegoers have been prompted to check their moral code and discover if it is possible to separate a scandalous artist from his empowering art. Even more so, can an artist’s reputation influence the reception of their art?

The answers reflected in the opening weekend box office numbers for “The Birth of a Nation.” The film, once projected to gross somewhere in the $10-$20 million mark, opened at $7.1 million. Roxane Gay, a contributing op-ed writer for the New York Times, would comment on the confliction with “The Birth of a Nation” director.

“There are renewed questions about whether we can or should separate the artist from his art,” Gay said in her impassioned piece. “I am reminded that I cannot.”

To Gay’s point, while Parker was acquitted of any wrongdoing, the decision was made by the same justice system that handed Brock Turner a lenient six-month prison sentencing, despite being caught in the act of raping an unconscious woman behind a dumpster in the now-infamous Stanford rape case. Parker, like Turner, was a college athlete at the time of his trial. Although 17 years separate the two cases, Parker’s acquittal comes with a large grain of salt.

Academy Award-winning directors Woody Allen and Roman Polanski have also been involved in controversial cases that have taken away from their artwork. Allen and Polanski were still able to find great success in the film industry, which may prove to be Parker’s fate as “The Birth of a Nation” showcased his talent as an artist. Yet, no amount of success can distance Parker from his past, for admiring the art does not mandate admiring the artist.