Real talent vs. what an artist "should" look like...

Here is Milli Vanilli, the band I mentioned in class who was caught for lip syncing all of their songs, claiming it was their own voices. Is the image of an artist really so important that their true talent does not matter? Or, was the band so publicly scrutinized because it is generally considered unacceptable to simply disregard musical ability in exchange for a "pretty face"? Nowadays with auto tune, it seems that the first option is starting to gain more influence over society- whereas before the 1980's it was unheard of for a musical artist to become famous by using someone else's (or a highly altered) voice.