Overshadowed by Controversy has several examples, particularly under the Fan Works, Webcomics, and Web Original folders, that don't fit the trope as described. The controversy is supposed to overshadow the work, so if it doesn't do that it shouldn't count as a valid example.
The media folders, such as Anime or Western Animation, could also use a look, as some entries deal with shows, while others deal with actors, fans, or creators. Additionally, some of the entries are not controversial anymore or are not known enough to overshadow the show completely, and others seem closer to Never Live It Down.
Some examples even point out that the controversy was debunked or died down eventually, which doesn't fit the trope, as well as examples saying things like "time will tell if [x] can recover." I originally tried the Real-Life cleanup section, and then a TRS thread, but I hope this is the right section to help us clean up this trope's examples. ^^
MOD NOTE: For something to be overshadowed by controversy; it has to have a significant, arguably overwhelming impact on that work/creator/thing that’s provable by pointing to actual evidence beyond social media likes or a news report. The controversy has to be bigger than the thing for it to overshadow the thing.
For a work, did it bomb directly due to the controversy? Was it pulled from shelves or streaming services? Nothing like this? Then it most likely doesn’t count.
For a creator, did they lose their job/get banned or lose all of their sponsorships or are unable to get any work directly due to the controversy? Did they at least retire directly because of the controversy? Nothing like this? Then it most likely doesn’t count.
Valid examples would be people like Gina Carano or Louie CK. As they were both fired and black listed for their controversies. Or Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are now more known for those controversies than their actual careers. Clearly being overshadowed by it.
If only chronically online people like us are going to be aware of something, it definitely doesn’t count. The controversy has to be so big that even people who are rarely online or know very little about something, would still have heard of the controversy.
Edited by kory on Oct 4th 2025 at 10:21:54 AM
How long is the wait time for posting Hollywood actors? There is a slight chance Noah Schnapp could qualify for OBC in the future for the exact opposite political stance that Vanessa Redgrave, also listed as OBC, had about a very infamous ongoing war that tragically sees no sign of stopping.
Edited by xie323 on Nov 22nd 2023 at 1:21:40 AM
- Overshadowed by Controversy: While Chinatown is generally agreed to be an excellent film, what people who haven't seen it tend to know about it is that it includes Parental Incest as a major plot point and is one of the few works of fiction to end in a complete and utter victory for the villains. The Big Bad of the movie also happens to be a pedophile, and while it was made well before Roman Polański's arrest for child molestation, it has still prompted cynical comparisons between the character and the director. Adding to the unease is the fact that it was Polański who insisted on changing the original screenplay ending note to the ending in the movie.
While you can say that Polanski's career is OBC, I think Chinatown is too beloved/influential to count.
Yup, most people know Chinatown more for being the movie that brought us "Forget it Jake, it's Chinatown" or "My sister [slap] my daughter" than being a Roman Polański film.
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So it doesn't really count as that example.
Edited by AudioSpeaks2 on Nov 23rd 2023 at 1:17:42 AM
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that could be an argument for Chinatown counting as Harsher in Hindsight, but not OBC.
Was there discussion about removing this entry from the Real Life page?
- Chick-fil-A is probably best known now for its ties to anti-gay organizations, including those that practice conversion therapy, which has long been discredited as not only ineffective, but sometimes consisting of such severe emotional abuse it leads to suicide. As such, it's not uncommon for gay rights activists to boycott Chick-fil-A every time they open a new store. In November 2019, the restaurant announced that it would no longer donate money to these anti-gay groups. The last time they said they would end their donations took place years earlier, but they ultimately reneged on that promise.
Someone just removed it
with the edit reason "I think the Chick-fil-A controversy has died down."
I'm not necessarily attached to keeping it, just curious what the consensus is. I looked through the most recent pages of the thread and didn't see anything about it.
I know Chick-fil-A's (former?) ties to anti-LGBTQ groups isn't as hot a topic in recent years as it once was, but I see it referred to as "homophobia chicken" before anything else frequently enough still that I can't be sure. (I'm not sure a restaurant even needs an entry, honestly, it seems a bit outside scope.)
If Papa John's has an entry, then Chick-fil-A should be kept.
By the way, is it natter to mention that the restaurant no longer donates to homophobic organizations amid its increased Canadian expansion that began two months prior in Toronto?
Kirby is awesome.
Well then, the entire Chick-fil-A example can be re-added, along with adding the mention of its increased Canadian expansion that began two months prior in Toronto, given that Canada is a country where LGBTQ+ rights are legally protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and homophobia is both largely condemned and illegal.
By the way, I am a member of the LGBTQ+ population as an asexual who sometimes eats at Chick-fil-A.
Edited by Nen_desharu on Nov 28th 2023 at 8:54:46 AM
Kirby is awesome.I'd say re-add but don't add the Canada thing, because it'll probably invite ROCEJ stuff about how big homophobia still is in Canada.
Chick-fil-A is probably more associated with bigotry than Papa John's. I still see people cite it as the main example of a boycott against homophobia.
I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.I think it's based on location. While we do have popular Chick-fil-A locations in the more liberal parts of the north, there's more of an expectation to "justify" getting it as opposed to the south.
I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.I think their point is that it's popular as a restaurant, which suggests the controversy isn't the immediate thing people think about.
Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper WallIt's certainly popular as a restaurant, but as someone who lived in the deep south US for many years, the anti-LGBTQ ties definitely still came up frequently and motivated at least some people to stop being customers (and others to claim they'd be more frequent customers, because, y'know...). To be honest, I didn't know they'd officially cut ties with the organizations that caused the controversy, so I feel like it's something that people still associate the chain with, but that's why I wanted more opinions.
I’d probably say Chick-Fil-A is still very frequently associated with the homophobia. Though yeah, Canada stuff is not super relevant to the broader point.
Also, since it’s been 6 months, do we list content creator Illuminaughtii now? She had a huge backlash over frivolously suing popular Lawyer YouTuber Legal Eagle for plagiarism, a bold move if I’ve ever seen one, and her channel very clearly hasn’t recovered the popularity and success she’d found before it broke out
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Edited by DDRMASTERM on Nov 29th 2023 at 3:08:10 AM
Uh. Yeah. The drama runs deep, she's been called out for abuse of multiple colleagues and essentially running an MLM (while railing against those in her videos).
Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall

Very few fandoms become infamous for shipping discourse above all else to the point where people who aren't into fandoms know primarily about it, except maybe Netflix's Voltron.
Edited by mightymewtron on Nov 21st 2023 at 2:24:11 PM
I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.