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
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it's a good reminder that the key to the trope is "overshadowed". If someone's entire job/brand centres around being controversial, it's not exactly overshadowing them.
Hey guys, I'm working on the Wick Check and eventual TRS thread for OBC, and I had a question I wanted to ask people who do more cleanup here - is OBC supposed to be the trope for "Cancelled?" I'm seeing a lot of potholes to OBC when talking about any career ending (or at least impacting) scandal, and I also see a lot of examples talking more about behind-the-scenes creators than anything to do with the actual work itself. Is this misuse of the trope?
Eh... maybe? I think a truly "cancelled" creator is more Fallen Creator. This is just really the concept for a creator (or work) being more memorable for a controversy than the actual stuff they did / actual contents of the story. The controversy doesn't need to be serious or even true; it just has to affect how people think.
Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper WallI think Role-Ending Misdemeanor is what "cancelled" should mean (since it's about actual consequences), but colloquially I guess it fits OBC better. I think it should be clear in the example that the controversy overshadowed the work as opposed to a controversy just existing.
Edited by mightymewtron on Apr 23rd 2024 at 3:15:53 PM
I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.Could the Stormcloaks from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim be seen as a case where a entire faction ends up with the Overshadowed By Controversy treatment where they are mostly known for xenophobia than anything else. Not to go too much into late 2010s real world politics but with stuff like the refugee crisis, combined with the far right populist parties using anti-refugee rhetoric, the faction comes off as far more unsympathetic than they are and they tend to be mostly known for their xenophobia nowadays.
It might be one thing if they were villains, or this was a Ceaser's Legion situation where they are objectively in the wrong but they have boatloads of Misaimed Fandom or Draco in Leather Pants painting them as morally grey but the Stormcloaks are legitimately presented as a legit morally rounded option.
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This sound like something for the Character Perception Evolution thread. It sounds similar to the description for the Imperium of Man.
I think the Stormcloaks (and Ulfric in particular) are already listed under Base-Breaking Character with the ages-old "Is Ulfric Stormcloak George Washington or Robert E. Lee?" debate stated eloquently, if I recall.
Edited by ReginaldOgron5 on Apr 24th 2024 at 3:01:08 AM
Wenn sie die Ente hierein lassen, lasse ich das Wasser hieraus!The Stormcloaks were meant to be one half of a conflict that the game presented in a very even-handed manner as two sides motivated by a mix of ideology, traditional loyalty, power and simple prejudice. The playerbase is divided because that was the intention. They may have inched a bit towards one faction in the meantime, but I don't see how it could be a momentous shift work noting. Most of players, from what I can see, regard the war as background noise.
Stories don't tell us monsters exist; we knew that already. They show us that monsters can be trademarked and milked for years.Assuming this hasn't been discussed before, but would Twitter qualify as OBC. Even before Elon Musk's infamous buyout of the platform in 2023, the site has been the subject of ridicule and mockery since the early 2020s for being the codifiers for the term "cancel culture". As someone who used to be on the platform daily, and sincerely regrets it, is there any reason besides the obvious why this shouldn't be added given it's infamy.
"It's requested that your death ends here, now!" - Sayaka, Death end re;Quest Code Z.How much obscurity is a historical figure allowed to have for this trope before they are too obscure for it?
I have a historical figure whose reputation screams OBC given how they are viewed historically and there are some patterns with legit historical OBC(his controversial behavior overshadows everything else he did), but the amount of people that know about him is kinda niche and tied to one circle: specifically the political hard left and far left in America.
(It's Earl Browder btw)
Edited by xie323 on Apr 26th 2024 at 6:10:28 AM
We do have a couple of presidents and political figures through that do qualify for "one specific actions" overshadowing everything else like Nixon with Watergate, Tony Blair with Iraq. And there's not too much of a rule other than "don't throw every politician that is hated for everything they do here, it has to be one specific incident being seen to determine how most people view them overshadowing everything else"
And with Browder its' not really because of the more inherently controversial behavior of being a Communist, but more of a specific action that overshadowed how he is viewed on the political left. The issue with Browder is more due to if he is well known enough to warrent this trope.
Edited by xie323 on Apr 26th 2024 at 6:19:21 AM
I don't think the "cancel culture" thing is unique to Twitter (it's also associated with Tumblr and TikTok) and too many people still use Twitter for it to be truly OBC. I do think it could become OBC in the near future at the rate it's losing validity and support from non-Musk fanboys, but I don't think it's there yet as long as businesses still use Twitter for promotion.
I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.Considering that YouTube and Tumblr are still listed as OBC despite both sites still having a huge amount of users, I think we need to distinct which website isn't overshadowed but still controversial and which site is Overshadowed by Controversy.
"It's requested that your death ends here, now!" - Sayaka, Death end re;Quest Code Z.Youtube certainly isn’t OBC. It’s received its fair share of criticisms, but the example currently on OvershadowedByControversy.Website (which has several more questionable examples) seems to perceive the drama it’s discussing as far more mainstream than it actually is.
It would be great to move OvershadowedByControversy.Website to OvershadowedByControversy.Websites to be more consistent with EarlyInstallmentWeirdness.Websites, as well as the fact that subpages generally have the medium be in the plural rather than in the singular (with the exception of collective nouns and "website" is not a collective noun).
After all, we moved all Newspaper Comics subpages to Comic Strips.
Should I go ahead, since it's a subpage rename?
Edited by Nen_desharu on Apr 27th 2024 at 6:01:59 AM
Kirby is awesome.That makes sense. It could even just be page-moved.
I think Tumblr may be OBC by its porn ban due to the mass exodus and the fact people treat it on other websites like it died back then despite it still having an active userbase, but I don't think Youtube can be boiled down to being overshadowed by a single controversy when there's basically a new issue with the site every other month.
I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.I'm also questioning The Mary Sue controversy here as that site is still active and posts new articles, it doesn't seem overshadowed to me. Youtube is not overshadowed, most of the casual audience does not really care about any controversy and will still continue to watch videos regardless. I also see Kiwi Farms listed but that feels like an "intentionally controversial" site, it's not really overshadowed by anything.
