History Main / MadeOutToBeAJerkass

* Deconstructed in a big way in the second season finale of ''MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''. Twilight Sparkle accuses Princess Cadence of being evil after seeing how much of a {{Jerkass}} she was being towards her friends. Cadence breaks down in tears and runs away, causing everypony to be upset with her, her brother to change his mind about her being Best Mare, and Princess Celestia to be disappointed in her. [[spoiler:However, the Evil Cadence was really the Queen of the Changelings, impersonating her, and the real one was locked in a dungeon below the castle. Because of the pones shunning Twilight in favor of the imposter, Canterlot became overrun with an army of Changelings and nearly destroyed, and the Queen gleefully points this out. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Nice Job Breaking it, My Little Ponies]]!]]

* Deconstructed in a big way in second season finale of ''MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''. Twilight Sparkle accuses Princess Cadence of being evil after seeing how much of a {{Jerkass}} she was being towards her friends. Cadence breaks down in tears and runs away, causing everypony to be upset with her, her brother to change his mind about her being Best Mare, and Princess Celestia to be disappointed in her. [[spoiler:However, the Evil Cadence was really the Queen of the Changelings, impersonating her, and the real one was locked in a dungeon below the castle. Because of the pones shunning Twilight in favor of the imposter, Canterlot became overrun with an army of Changelings and nearly destroyed, and the Queen gleefully points this out. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Nice Job Breaking it, My Little Ponies]]!]]

This can be a FamilyUnfriendlyAesop where being a jerk back is even worse than what the jerk did to you. Can result from being a BullyHunter. A villain, especially a VillainWithGoodPublicity, may use this as part of a XanatosGambit to [[HeroWithBadPublicity give a hero bad cred]]. Similar to WhyDidYouMakeMeHitYou where the guy who hit you acts like the victim, IfYouTauntHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim, and AvengingTheVillain. Related to ArrestedForHeroism and NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished for being punished for doing the right thing, CrimeOfSelfDefense for being punished for defending yourself, PlayingTheVictimCard as in a villain tries to get sympathy by claiming to be a victim and WoundedGazelleGambit where one pretends to be hurt by another in order to make him look bad. Compare WhatTheHellHero. Contrast EngineeredPublicConfession.

* Deconstructed in a big way in second season finale of ''MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''. Twilight Sparkle accuses Princess Cadence of being evil after seeing how much of a {{Jerkass}} she was being towards her friends. Cadence breaks down in tears and runs away, causing everypony upset with her, her brother to change his mind about her being Best Mare, and Princess Celestia to be disappointed in her. [[spoiler:However, the Evil Cadence was really the Queen of the Changelings, impersonating her, and the real one was locked in a dungeon below the castle. Because of the pones shunning Twilight in favor of the imposter, Canterlot became overrun with an army of Changelings and nearly destroyed, and the Queen gleefully points this out. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Nice Job Breaking it, My Little Ponies]]!]]

* Deconstructed in a big way in second season finale of MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic. Twilight Sparkle accuses Princess Cadence of being evil after seeing how much of a {{Jerkass}} she was being towards her friends. Cadence breaks down in tears and runs away, causing everypony upset with her, her brother to change his mind about her being Best Mare, and Princes Celestia to be disappointed in her. [[spoiler:However, the Evil Cadence was really the Queen of the Changelings, impersonating her, and the real one was locked in a dungeon below the castle. Because of the pones shunning Twilight in favor of the imposter, Canterlot became overrun with an army of Changelings and nearly destroyed, and the Queen gleefully points this out. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Nice Job Breaking it, My Little Ponies]]!]]

** ''[[{{Arthur}} Arthur's Big Hit]]''. No matter how you look at it, his anger was completely justified.

** ''[[[[Arthur]] Arthur's Big Hit]]''. No matter how you look at it, his anger was completely justified.

* The ending of ''EdEddNEddy's [[TheMovie Big Picture Show]]'' has an inversion of this. At the beginning of the movie, the Ed's latest scam caused massive damage and severely hurt the children, resulting in them being hunted down. After the encounter with [[CompleteMonster Eddy's brother]], everyone got over it, except Johnny who didn't arrive until afterwards. Therefore, when he attacked the Eds, the children beat him up.

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'' features Billy being tormented by a bully. In a rare CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming (for her), Mandy stands up to bully, only for Billy to get on her for picking on him.

This can be a FamilyUnfriendlyAesop where being a jerk back is even worse than what the jerk did to you. Can result from being a BullyHunter. A villain, especially a VillainWithGoodPublicity, may use this as part of a XanatosGambit to [[HeroWithBadPublicity give a hero bad cred]]. Similar to WhyDidYouMakeMeHitYou where the guy who hit you acts like the victim, IfYouTauntHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim, and AvengingTheVillain. Related to ArrestedForHeroism for being punished for doing the right thing, CrimeOfSelfDefense for being punished for defending yourself, PlayingTheVictimCard as in a villain tries to get sympathy by claiming to be a victim and WoundedGazelleGambit where one pretends to be hurt by another in order to make him look bad. Compare WhatTheHellHero. Contrast EngineeredPublicConfession.

* Another infamous example is from ''{{Futurama}}'' episode 'Benderama'. An ugly giant appeared in the first act and got upset when Fry accidentally insulted his mother. In the third act, he came to Earth to apologize for his behavior, but unfortunately, everyone's so intoxicated ([[ItsALongStory due to all the fresh water on Earth being turned in alcohol]]) that they inadvertently pick him on and call him a monster, causing him to go crazy and start attacking the town, ending with him being killed by Bender's copies.

* Wonderfully inverted in an episode of ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle''. In one episode, Lois grounds Malcolm for not helping move a couch even though he was doing some school work. Then when the family is forced to evacuate due to a train wreck releasing toxic fumes, she says the grounding still stands and makes him stay on a cot. When he finally stands up to her, she humiliates him in front of everyone. This results in her being forced to stay outside with the others for things they did (Reese creating a black market for supplies, Dewey lying to everyone to get sympathy, and Hal for causing the accident that forced the evacuation in the first place), resulting in the one time Malcolm came out on top.

* In one of the later ''{{Twilight}}'' books, Leah tells off Bella for the way she's been treating Jacob. Bella then bursts into tears and everybody, including Jacob, gets mad at Leah for upsetting her.

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* Wonderfully inverted in an episode of ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle''. In one episode, Lois grounds Malcolm for not helping move a couch even though he was doing some school work. Then when the family is forced to evacuate due to a train wreck releasing a toxic fumes, she says the grounding still stands and makes him stay on a cot. When he finally stands up to her, she humiliates him in front of everyone. This results in her being forced to stay out side with the others for things they did (Reese creating a black market for supplies, Dewey lying to everyone to get sympathy, and Hal for causing the accident that forced the evacuation in the first place), resulting in the one time Malcolm came out on top.

* Wonderfully inverted in an episode of ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle''. In one episode, Lois grounds Malcolm for not helping move a couch even though he was doing some school work. Then when the family is forced to evacuate due to a train wreck releasing a toxic fumes, she says the grounding still stands and makes him stay on a cot. When he finally stands up to her, she humiliates him in front of everyone. This results in her being forced to stay out side with the others for things they did, resulting in the one time Malcolm came out on top.

* The ending of ''EdEddNEddy's [[TheMovie Big Picture Show]]'' has a inversion of this. At the beginning of the movie, the Ed's latest scam caused massive damage and severely hurt the children, resulting in them being hunted down. After the encounter with [[CompleteMonster Eddy's brother]], everyone got over it, except Johnny who didn't arrive until afterwards. Therefore, when he attacked the Eds, the children beat him up.

* Who could forget ''[[WeternAnimation/DonaldDuck Crazy Over Daisy]]'' where using chipmunks as a source of transportation after they torment you and destroy your bike results in you losing your girl.

* The ending of ''EdEddNEddy's [[TheMovie Big Picture Show]]'' has a inversion of this. At the beginning of the movie, the Ed's latest scam caused massive damage and severely hurt the children, resulting in them being hunted down. After the encounter with [[CompleteMonster Eddy's brother]], everyone got over it, except Johnny who didn't arrive until afterwards. Therefore, when he attacked the Eds, the children beated him up.

* Who could forget ''[[DonaldDuck Crazy Over Daisy]]'' where using chipmunks as a source of transportation after they torment you and destroy your bike results in you losing your girl.

* Who could forget ''Crazy Over Daisy'' where using chipmunks as a source of transportation after they torment you and destroy your bike results in you losing your girl.

This can be a FamilyUnfriendlyAesop where being a jerk back is even worse than what the jerk did to you. Can result from being a BullyHunter. A villain, especially a VillainWithGoodPublicity, may use this as part of a XanatosGambit to [[HeroWithBadPublicity give a hero bad cred]]. Similar to WhyDidYouMakeMeHitYou where the guy who hit you acts like the victim, IfYouTauntHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim, and AvengingTheVillain. Related to ArrestedForHeroism for being punished for doing the right thing, CrimeOfSelfDefense for being punished for defending yourself, PlayingTheVictimCard as in a villain tries to get sympathy by claiming to be a victim and WoundedGazelleGambit where one pretends to be hurt by another in order to make him look bad. Compare WhatTheHellHero?. Contrast EngineeredPublicConfession.

* ''Series/TwoAndAHalfMen'' features an episode where Charlie gives his mother a CallingTheOldManOut speech but then she turns it around and treats him like he's being a brat.

* In one episode of ''GroundedForLife'', upon learning that Eddie had an adult movie shot at their house, Claudia bans him from the house. When the kids find out, they get upset that they'll never see their uncle again. Claudia even [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] it.
* In ''HowIMetYourMother'' episode "Columns", Ted deals with a worker (his former boss) who keeps belittling his ideas and being a jerk, prompting him to fire him. However, he finds himself unable to do it due to circumstances: his birthday, his wife left him and served him divorce papers, and his dog died. Finally, Ted has enough and decides to fire him at last. However, as he does, the worker has a heart attack. Ted thinks he's faking it and fires him anyway. The worker is then carried off in a stretcher and everyone despises Ted, including the paramedics.
* ''TwoAndAHalfMen'' features an episode where Charlie gives his mother a CallingTheOldManOut speech but then she turns it around and treats him like he's being a brat.
* Wonderfully inverted in an episode of ''MalcolmInTheMiddle''. In one episode, Lois grounds Malcolm for not helping move a couch even though he was doing some school work. Then when the family is forced to evacuate due to a train wreck releasing a toxic fumes, she says the grounding still stands and makes him stay on a cot. When he finally stands up to her, she humiliates him in front of everyone. This results in her being forced to stay out side with the others for things they did, resulting in the one time Malcolm came out on top.

* One episode of ''TheSimpsons'' features Gill staying with the family after losing his job on Christmas. He stays for months and defiles the house to the point where Marge can't take it anymore and decides to stand up to him. By that time, Gill had gotten a new job, so Marge takes the family to his new workplace to tell him off. Unfortunately, when she does, he loses the respect of his workers and his boss fires him. Marge feels so guilty that she and the family buy a vacation house from Gill.

* In a most egregious example, in all places, a ''SpongeBobSquarePants'' episode entitled "Stuck In A Wringer". [=SpongeBob=] has an accident that gets him [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin stuck in a wringer]], and thanks to Patrick's stupidity, he can't get out. [=SpongeBob=] feels he'll never be able to do anything now, but Patrick gives him a RousingSpeech that he can go on. Unfortunately, Patrick's speech is proven unfounded as the wringer causes [=SpongeBob=] a ton of bad luck no matter how much Patrick tries to inspire him. Finally, in the middle of an amusement park, [=SpongeBob=] snaps at Patrick, telling him his life is over and that it's all his fault. Patrick runs off crying while everyone who was watching call [=SpongeBob=] a jerk and say he got what he deserved.

* An episode of ''TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'' features Billy being tormented by a bully. In a rare CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming (for her), Mandy stands up to bully, only for Billy to get on her for picking on him.
* In effect in ''DannyPhantom'' episode "Splitting Images". Tired of resident JerkJock Dash picking on him, Danny decides to use his powers to get some payback. Unfortunately, he catches the attention of BullyHunter Sidney Poindexter who thinks that Dash was an innocent kid (somehow missing when Dash picked on Danny), so he takes over Danny's body and sends him to his realm where Danny gets picked on by Poindexter's bullies. While the message in the episode is ComesGreatResponsibility, it's laced with this trope as well.

* In ''HowIMetYourMother'' episode "Columns", Ted deals with a worker (his former boss) who keeps belittling his ideas and being a jerk, prompting him to fire him. However, he finds himself unable to do it due to circumstances: his birthday, his wife left him and served him divorce papers, and his dog died. Finally, Ted has enough and decides to fire him at last. However, as he does, the worker has a heart attack. Ted thinks he's faking it and fires him anyway. The worker is carried off in a stretcher and everyone despises Ted, including the paramedics.

* In ''HowIMetYourMother'' episode "Columns", Ted deals with a worker who keeps belittling his ideas and being a jerk, prompting him to fire him. However, he finds himself unable to do it due to circumstances: his birthday, his wife left him and served him divorce papers, and his dog died. Finally, Ted has enough and decides to fire him at last. However, as he does, the worker has a heart attack. Ted thinks he's faking it and fires him anyway. The worker is carried off in a stretcher and everyone despises Ted, including the paramedics.

* An episode of ''{{Friends}}'' has Ross move into a new apartment. A resident tries to get him to lend him $200. Ross points out that it's a lot of money for him, since he's just moved, but the guy manages to convince everyone else in the apartment that he's a deadbeat and makes him a pariah. All of Ross's attempts to vindicate himself all make him look worse.