'Work is work'? Not so much.
There's a phrase in the advertising and film production world that has been bothering me for a long time: Work is work.
And that particular justification has, of late, brought another phrase to mind: I was only following orders.
The corollary is: If I don't do it, someone else will.
Well, let them. Let people know that you turned down the project because you found that it does not align with your values. Let them know where you stand and why.
For too long too many people have gone along to get along. Time to stop.
If there are enough people in the creative world out there turn down the work that pushes an agenda that they know to wrong then eventually the talent pool for that work will be reduced to hacks.
If the people who worked on the cancelled Barr show had stepped away before it started, perhaps it wouldn't have gotten off the ground in the first place. Everyone knows that she's a train wreck, so why risk taking the job? For the paycheck? Sure, we all have to 'pay somebody', but sometimes it's better to do the other thing and find another way.
Several years ago we were given the chance to work on a national commercial that would have been funded by the NRA supporting GW Bush.
We turned it down, much to the disgust of the producer.
I'm not 'virtue signaling' here, but it was, in fact, the start of a new period as regards our business. We don't get as many jobs, but we feel better about ourselves.