Principally a form of Guilty Pleasure, the Russell Crowe effect describes the emotion felt when enjoying a piece of creative work by a person who you consider to be a complete twat. On the one hand you may well enjoy what the person is doing, but on the other feel a guilty twinge that you are giving your attention and money to someone you actually can't stand. This phenomenon is very similar to the Christian Bale effect, where you may enjoy the work of someone who has disappeared up their own anus, but should not be confused with the Tracy Emin effect, where the artist is clearly both unpleasant and crap.
"Have you seen Robin Hood yet?"
"No, I can't make up my mind whether to. He was good in Gladiator, but he is just such a sarcastic wanker I don't know if I can be arsed with him"
"Yes, that's the Russell Crowe effect"
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