Line #36 Main/MadeOutToBeAJerkass


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7	->'''Claudia''': Wait a minute. How did ''I'' become the bad guy?\
8	'''Henry''': You made Uncle Eddie leave. Now I'm going to have a porno birthday!
9	-->-- ''Series/GroundedForLife'', "All Apologies"
10
11	So, this guy has been a total {{Jerkass}} to you and you've finally had enough and snap. You stand up to him, give him a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech, and tell him off for everything he's done to you. Should be a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome, right? Well, guess what? You were so harsh on the guy that you [[MinorInsultMeltdown hurt his feelings]]. Even worse, your display was witnessed and the only thing that everyone saw was you being mean to him! [[SarcasmMode Congratulations]]. Everyone thinks you're the jerk instead of the guy you just told off!
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13	This can lead to a BrokenAesop, except that ValuesDissonance makes it widely accepted, where being a jerk back is even worse than what the original Jerkass did to you. Can result from being a BullyHunter. A villain, especially a VillainWithGoodPublicity, may use this to [[HeroWithBadPublicity give a hero bad cred]]. If the victim of this trope were friends with anyone who witnessed this scene prior to this moment, it probably triggers an EtTuBrute and WeUsedToBeFriends situation. In some cases, the ones who believed [[TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong the retaliator is in the wrong]] may [[OrderedApology force them to apologize to the insulted jerk]], and [[JerkassHasAPoint end up finding out that the calling out they were given was justified after all]].
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15	Contrast EngineeredPublicConfession. Can also happen with {{Hypocrite}}s who don't like being given ATasteOfTheirOwnMedicine. When it's the viewers that feel this way, it's RootingForTheEmpire and AccentuateTheNegative. If your own pet turns against you along with everybody else, that's EvenTheDogIsAshamed. Common constructors of the trope are those with HeadInTheSandManagement especially with a VillainWithGoodPublicity, or {{Principles Zealot}}s by [[BeliefMakesYouStupid blindly preaching]] peaceful options especially when [[PacifismBackfire they are not the solution]].
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17	This trope is TruthInTelevision. Sometimes bad timing means only the retaliation and not the original Jerkass behavior being witnessed by peers or authority figures; other times it's because they don't ''care'' what wrongdoings are going on so long as things stay quiet, or there's a BitchInSheepsClothing at work.
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19	There are some tropes that are comparable to this:
20	* AdultsAreUseless: Happens when adults side with the jerk being called out despite the jerk starting it.
21	* ArrestedForHeroism
22	* AvengingTheVillain
23	* TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong
24	* ConvictedByPublicOpinion
25	* CrimeOfSelfDefense: When a character gets punished for defending himself.
26	* {{Demonization}}
27	* FightingBackIsWrong: When you rightfully fight back against your tormentor, you'll be viewed to look even ''worse'' than him.
28	* FrameUp: "Made Out to Be a Culprit".
29	* HeroWithBadPublicity
30	* IfYouTauntHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim: This is the plausible idea why the character is called out for dealing with someone who is harassing him.
31	* InformedWrongness: When the author deliberately puts someone in the wrong but the person didn't do anything wrong.
32	* MiscarriageOfJustice: Where an innocent man is convicted for a crime he didn't commit.
33	* MoralMyopia: Where the person being the jerk is treated as in the right while the other person calling that person out is treated as in the wrong.
34	* NobodyLikesATattletale: When telling the teacher on a bully gets you labeled a snitch.
35	* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Being punished for doing the right thing.
36	* NoSympathyForGrudgeholders: Where a character gets called out for not forgiving the wrongdoer, especially when they're not repentant of the crime.
37	* PlayingTheVictimCard: A villain tries to get sympathy by claiming to be a victim.
38	* PoliceAreUseless: The adult version of Adults Are Useless.
39	* SelectiveEnforcement: Where one person does something immoral and doesn't get in trouble but the opposite happens when someone else does it.
40	* VillainWithGoodPublicity
41	* WhatTheHellHero
42	* WhyDidYouMakeMeHitYou: When the character who hit you acts like the victim.
43	* WoundedGazelleGambit: When one pretends to be hurt by another in order to make him look bad.
44
45	----
46	!!Examples:
47	[[index]]
48	* MadeOutToBeAJerkass/AnimeAndManga
49	* MadeOutToBeAJerkass/FanWorks
50	* MadeOutToBeAJerkass/LiveActionTV
51	* MadeOutToBeAJerkass/WesternAnimation
52	[[/index]]
53
54	[[foldercontrol]]
55
56	[[folder:Comic Books]]
57	* In the lead up to ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'', Maxwell Lord takes control of Superman, making him attack the rest of the Justice League and intending to have Superman go on a rampage that will turn the world against all metahumans. Franchise/WonderWoman, after having pleaded with Max to cease his actions and doing everything in her power to subdue Superman without killing him, ultimately kills Max who himself admitted this was the only way to stop his plan. Due to footage of the incident being edited in such a way to make her look like the bad guy, Wonder Woman is shunned by the public for several years and even Superman and Batman, both of whom knew the entire context of the situation, turn on her.
58	* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'':
59	** During the [[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 Sterling Gates]] run, General Sam Lane and his minions Reactron and Superwoman used this tactic against the eponymous heroine over and over again: they harass ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} and try to murder her, and when Kara defends herself, she gets in trouble for aggravated assault and battery, and even attempted murder in ''ComicBook/WhoIsSuperwoman''.
60	** In ''ComicBook/SupergirlCosmicAdventuresInThe8thGrade'', Linda Lee's classmates glare at her when they hear her recorded voice calling them "shallow, petty, mean and bad-smelling". That would be understandable, except that she was venting after spending several weeks putting up with their bullying and their mocking.
61	** In the beginning of ''ComicBook/StrangersAtTheHeartsCore'', Supergirl throws Shyla Kor-Onn back into the PhantomZone so she does not free the remaining inmates. Shyla gets released from the Phantom Zone later in the story, and she uses the fact that Kara was not legally authorized to send her back into the prison-dimension [[WoundedGazelleGambit to claim Kara was just jealous of the presence of another Kryptonian female on Earth]].
62	** In ''Superman (Vol.2) #10'', ComicBook/LexLuthor designs a combat robot invisible to non-Kryptonian eyes so that, when Superman engages him, casual observers think the Man of Steel is going berserker and tearing the area down while fighting with no one.
63	** In ''ComicBook/StarfiresRevenge'', the titular villainess executes her minion Derek and then feeds his brother Rodney the lie that Supergirl killed Derek due to being turned into a mad berserker by an experimental drug.
64	** In ''ComicBook/TheHuntForReactron'', Sam Lane frames Kara, Chris and Thara for murder and acts of terrorism, sends Science Police K-Squads after them, and then gets his men to record and broadcast the battle, framing it as the K-Squads defending themselves from the Kryptonian menace.
65	** In ''ComicBook/ThePlagueOfTheAntibioticMan'', Superman discovers the origin of the contagious disease spreading all over Central City is a shape-shifting creature called Jevik sent by his enemy Amalak. Unfortunately, he finds out that Jevik is masking as a little dog adopted by his co-worker Steve Lombard' nephew Jamie. Hence, when Superman tries to dispose of Jevik, the horrified little boy thinks Superman is going to kill his pet.
66	** ''ComicBook/TheSuperRevengeOfLexLuthor'': As part of a ploy to drive Superman crazy, Lex Luthor announces he has reformed and he is going to return the money he stole from all his bank holdups as Superman is away. When Superman returns, unaware of Luthor's "repentance", and spots what looks right like one of Luthor's bank-busting robots transporting a suspicious bomb-looking object to one bank, he destroys the robot and is immediately berated by everyone for interfering with Luthor's reform.
67	* ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'': After Peter accidentally breaks [[JerkJock Flash Thompson's]] hand by blocking one of his punches, his parents [[HilaritySues sue Aunt May and Uncle Ben for the medical costs]].
68	* In a flashback scene in ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'', young Walter Korvacs is being harassed by a couple of older kids because his mother is a prostitute, so Korvacs takes one kid's cigarette and stabs him in the eye with it. Korvacs is sent to juvenile hall while the bully receives no official punishment.
69	[[/folder]]
70
71	[[folder:Film -- Animated]]
72	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAngryBirdsMovie'', Red Bird finds proof that the Pigs are up to something. However, when he tells the other birds, rather than confront the Pigs, they all get on ''him'' for violating their guests' privacy.
73	* In ''WesternAnimation/MrPeabodyAndSherman'', [[AcademicAlphaBitch Penny]] belittles Sherman over being a "dog" and starts assaulting him in the cafeteria. After Sherman bites her in retaliation, the school staff see this as Sherman bullying ''her'' due to Penny pulling CrocodileTears in a photo (though the principal did seem to understand the situation). In return, [[InsaneTrollLogic Mr. Peabody is accused of bad parenting]] and [[DepartmentOfChildDisservices almost gets Sherman taken away from him]].
74	* ''WesternAnimation/OverTheHedge'': Inverted. The animals shun Verne partially for calling RJ out (which he is right about, at first), but mostly for calling them stupid for listening to him, something that Hammy takes very harshly. This plays a part in RJ's HeelRealization and he actually works on settling things between them.
75	[[/folder]]
76
77	[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
78	* In ''Film/HomeAlone1'', [[BigBrotherBully Buzz]] deliberately eats all of Kevin's cheese pizza then tells him to get a plate as he pretends to throw up, leading to Kevin angrily shoving him and causing a DisasterDominoes effect throughout the kitchen. Afterwards, Kevin is blamed for the mess and sent to the third floor by his mother while everyone ignores the fact that Buzz started it.
79	* In Creator/StephenKing's ''Film/{{It\|1990}}'', when Ben is tormented by his cousin Bradley over his crush on Beverly, he retaliates. Ben's aunt then comes in to pull Ben off of her son and scold him, not even reprimanding her son when he tells Ben he hates him and he's only with them because it's their duty to house him.
80	* In ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing'', Sam can only lash out at Gollum's false accusations. It doesn't help (though it's actually the Ring making Frodo be more sympathetic to Gollum).
81	[[/folder]]
82
83	[[folder:Literature]]
84	* In ''Literature/BreakingDawn'', [[TheWoobie Leah]] tells off Bella for the way she's been treating Jacob. [[WoundedGazelleGambit Bella then bursts into tears and everybody, including Jacob, gets mad at Leah for upsetting her]].
85	* ''Literature/TheCalfOfTheNovemberCloud'': Konyek and his cousin Parmet are taking their families' cattle to graze when they are attacked by cattle thieves, who spear Konyek and steal all their livestock as Parmet runs off and hides in the bushes. Happy to see his hated cousin bleeding to death, Parmet leaves Konyek for dead and returns to his hamlet, whereupon he tells his tribe he valiantly tried to protect their cattle while Konyek ran away like a coward.
86	* ''Literature/MyRepairSkillBecameAnAlmightyCheat'': Not only does the "hero" Falcone blame Luke for the loss of supplies due to his own carelessness, but Falcone's backer turns around and accuses Luke of abandoning the hero party and leaving them to die instead, purely to steal the Hero's sword, and when that accusation is debunked, then tries to accuse Luke of killing the hero to cover up a mithril smuggling operation. When that accusation also gets debunked, The King tells the guy, "shut it, you damn windbag" albeit in far more diplomatic terms.
87	* ''Literature/QueenOfBabble'': Monsieur Henri when he returns to work in Book Three after his heart attack. He's shocked at all the changes that Lizzie has made to the shop, which includes a new cappuccino bar and salmon awning, and says that it's not his business anymore. Tiffany and Madame Henri explicitly call him an UngratefulBastard for not appreciating that Lizzie increased their business by 1000 percent. Lizzie understands, however, that he nearly died and is dealing with some reservations about where his life is going.
88	* In ''Literature/TheZombieKnight'', on [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Cisco Elroy's]] first day at a new school, he beat up a kid who tried to bully him, and since they were both unknowns the teachers concluded that Cisco was the bully. The reputation unfortunately stuck, and since then all the good teachers have been biased against him and all the wrong people want to be his friends.
89	[[/folder]]
90
91	[[folder:Manhwa]]
92	* In ''Manhwa/TheMonstrousDukesAdoptedDaughter'', Leslie Speràdo has been marked as a HumanSacrifice by her entire family and treated like crap her whole life, and she was desperate to earn their affection. After the family servants ''tied a rope around her neck and tried to drag her into a fire'', and her own father, tired of waiting, shoved her in himself with a quarterstaff, she wakes up, in her dim attic room, having miraculously survived. Realizing that winning affection in ''that'' household is an exercise in futility, she pointedly doesn't put up with their crap anymore, relatives or servants, and starts pushing back. At this point, the entire household does everything in their power to mark her as evil, or crazy, or both.
93	[[/folder]]
94
95	[[folder:Video Games]]
96	* Referenced as part of [[TheHeartless Shadow Maya's]] [[BreakThemByTalking comments]] towards the heroes in ''VideoGame/Persona2'', though referring to an apology rather than self defense. In short, what she is insinuating that if someone apologizes, the the burden of guilt is transferred onto the victim and that they then become the bad guy if they refuse to accept the apology, forcing them to accept regardless of if anything has actually been solved. For the heroes who are all dealing with having committed a grievous sin in their youth, this cuts deep.
97	-->"Do you know what the most convenient phrase in the world is? It's "I'm sorry." Anyone who hears that is obligated to forgive, no matter how hurt or angry they may be... There's no more disgusting phrase in all the world. It's used to displace your suffering onto others so you can escape your sins... The moment you employ it, your suffering becomes the other person's. A thing can be unforgivable, but oh, if they apologize..."
98	[[/folder]]
99
100	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
101	* Downplayed in ''VisualNovel/DoubleHomework''. When Dennis has revealed the protagonist’s video game addiction to the class, he can choose to defend himself. In this case, Dennis apologizes, making himself look good, while the protagonist looks like the jerk. Still, the class remains firmly on his side against Dennis in the long run.
102	[[/folder]]
103
104	[[folder:Webcomics]]
105	* In ''Webcomic/OzyAndMillie'', Millie has been physically bullied by [[JerkJock Jeremy]] for years, but the one time Millie hit back was [[SelectiveEnforcement the one time her teacher was watching]]. And the school only punishes what its teachers personally see, even if the "aggressor" was visibly dripping mud water at the time, a policy that the teacher all but admits was born of sheer laziness.
106	-->'''Millie's mom:''' Was it painful, having your soul extracted?
107	* In ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'', Agatha [[https://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090504 feels like this when]] Zola, the Knights of Jove's fake Heterodyne, bursts into tears after being captured.
108	-->'''Agatha''': I get it. I ''see'' where this is going. ''She'' came here, claiming to be the Heterodyne, with her stupid pink airship and her perfect pretty clothes and her ''cheap theatrics'', trying to steal ''my'' town and ''my'' castle. Not to mention she tried to ''kill'' me, and is probably the one responsible for the ''army of clanks'' at my gate. But ''I'm'' the big meanie, because ''I'' made Princess Psycho ''cry''.
109	[[/folder]]
110
111	[[folder:Web Original]]
112	* ''WebAnimation/MangaRabbitHomeNoba'': When Kenji shows up with [[spoiler:his younger sister]] Minako, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHGWV8hqGnE Terumi]] attempts to turn her fiancé Kenji against Hayato by claiming ''he'' is the gold digger. However, Kenji reveals that Hayato and Minako are going to marry around the same time as them.
113	* ''WebAnimation/MangaSoprano'':
114	** ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJp1UCVpQpc On the eve of the wedding, my fiancée was snatched away by a bratty junior colleague...]]'': Ram is cast as a violent bully for calling Shiho out on stealing her fiancé Kinoshita-kun, while making it look like he was engaged to ''Shiho''. The rumors escalate to the point her chief transfers Ram to another department under Chief Kairi.
115	** ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sk-QOB4e5gA My sister call me wedding now with my fiance → But I'm having a wedding abroad at that time ...! ??]]'' [sic]: Erica whined and accused her younger sister Kanade of hurting her with playing blocks when they were both kids.
116	* Phase of the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'' tries to help Bladedancer take on a lower profile. Phase gets blamed by the whole [[SuperheroSchool school]] for kicking Bladedancer out of Team Kimba.
117	[[/folder]]
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