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Overshadowed By Controversy Cleanup

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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

mightymewtron Word Up from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Word Up
#2351: Nov 15th 2021 at 8:57:09 PM

Someone already brought that example up quite recently. We didn't even change the subject.

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
Nen_desharu Nintendo Fanatic Extraordinaire from Greater Smash Bros. Universe or Toronto Since: Aug, 2020 Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Nintendo Fanatic Extraordinaire
#2352: Nov 15th 2021 at 8:59:34 PM

As someone who has played Animal Crossing: New Horizons to near completion, I have never heard of that "space buns" controversy until I read it in this thread.

Not every "controversy" documented on Twitter needs to be added to OBC.

Edited by Nen_desharu on Nov 15th 2021 at 12:00:22 PM

Kirby is awesome.
ImperialMajestyXO Since: Nov, 2015
#2353: Nov 15th 2021 at 9:33:16 PM

Maybe we should make a "controversy happens" trivia item.

But seriously, I think we should cut it, at least for the time being.

Edited by ImperialMajestyXO on Nov 15th 2021 at 9:35:42 AM

Siegfried1337 Calabash. from The Eastern Luminant Since: Sep, 2018 Relationship Status: Will you go out with me to the End?
SkylaNoivern Since: Sep, 2016
#2355: Nov 16th 2021 at 11:54:30 AM

As an Animal Crossing fan. Yeah, no. The space buns incident is very much Twitter drama and not something that casual fans would even know about. I entirely forgot about its existence until I saw this thread.

DDRMASTERM do you wanna have a bad time? from Someplace, Utah, USA Since: Apr, 2013 Relationship Status: You cannot grasp the true form
do you wanna have a bad time?
#2356: Nov 16th 2021 at 6:01:31 PM

As a New Horizons fan who unironically suggested a Raymond meme comic for the Base-Breaking Character image, the Space Buns thing is something I remember, but I too can confirm it was a brief Twitter Drama and nothing more. I had forgotten about it before it was discussed here. Not to mention are we supposed to believe that a Twitter spat could seriously overshadow the second best selling game on the Nintendo Switch?

SkylaNoivern Since: Sep, 2016
#2357: Nov 18th 2021 at 12:37:20 PM

Wondering if this entry fits:

  • American author and journalist Naomi Wolf is widely credited with starting third-wave feminism with her 1991 bestseller The Beauty Myth, and served as a political advisor to Bill Clinton and Al Gore. However, she has become better known for her support of conspiracy theories, particularly her support of anti-vax and anti-lockdown movements during the COVID-19 Pandemic, which earned her a lifetime suspension from Twitter in June 2021.

TheLivingDrawing Lucas the Dreamer from The Town of Clayton Since: Apr, 2019 Relationship Status: Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free
Lucas the Dreamer
#2358: Nov 18th 2021 at 12:38:53 PM

The animal crossing Space Buns example could probably stay as a meme if it isn’t already there but it’s far from overshadowed the game or it’s fanbase.

Once Upon A Time.
AlleyOop Since: Oct, 2010
#2359: Nov 18th 2021 at 1:06:20 PM

[up][up] While I'm not familiar with Naomi Wolf either way, a brief Google search does bring up a lot of news articles and thoughtpieces on her anti-vaxx advocacy.

mightymewtron Word Up from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Word Up
#2360: Nov 18th 2021 at 1:51:56 PM

[up][up] It is on Memes.Animal Crossing New Horizons, which is honestly the first I'd seen of it besides maybe one tweet months ago.

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
bowserbros No longer active. from Elsewhere Since: May, 2014
No longer active.
#2361: Nov 18th 2021 at 4:52:44 PM

I'm not too plugged into the diehard corners of the ACNH fandom, so keep that in mind when I say this, but I haven't heard much mention of the "cute space buns" incident since it first happened outside of like one or two reposts of the original image in an "if you know, you know" vein.

Be kind.
Ferot_Dreadnaught Since: Mar, 2015
#2362: Nov 20th 2021 at 11:55:52 PM

OvershadowedByControversy.Video Games

  • Developed by Eric "Sigvatr" Vaughn of the Something Awful Forums and released in 2008, Muslim Massacre: The Game of Modern Religious Genocide is, gameplay-wise, a decent Spiritual Successor to Robotron: 2084 and Berzerk, which would be fine if it wasn't exactly what its title suggests it is, Audience-Alienating Premise and all. It came as no surprise when Muslims came forward to condemn the game's premise of an American soldier parachuting into the Middle East to kill all Muslim NPCs, fighting Osama bin Laden, Muhammad and Allah as bosses along the way. Eventually, Vaughn took down the game on his site and issued an apology, explaining that it was intended to be a Stealth Parody, but it later emerged that the apology was fake; and given the nature of Something Awful, it is likely that controversy is exactly what Vaughn wanted.

I intend to cut as besides failing to state what's being overshadowed, it sounds like it was supposed to generate said controversy and thus has nothing to overshadow. Any objections?

  • Custer's Revenge, released on the Atari 2600 in 1982, is notorious for its Audience-Alienating Premise where the player accumulates points by raping a Native American woman tied to a cactus while dodging arrow fire. Even being sold in a sealed package with the label "NOT FOR SALE TO MINORS" with a dissuading $49.95 price tag (equivalent to around $140.63 in 2021) did nothing to help its reputation, though it still managed to sell well on Bile Fascination terms. Expect people to talk more about how messed up it is than about the (extremely repetitive and boring) gameplay.

I brought this here before and was told to cut it as it too little going for it besides the controversy. This new entry explains what's being overshadowed (the bad gameplay by it's horrifically offensive premise and other drama). But is the premise to big a part of the work to count as overshadowing? Or if there are more things overshadowing it that actual tropeable (Also, are we allowed to include 100% pornographic works like this? Or does 5P only ban such from having their own pages?)

DDRMASTERM do you wanna have a bad time? from Someplace, Utah, USA Since: Apr, 2013 Relationship Status: You cannot grasp the true form
do you wanna have a bad time?
#2363: Nov 21st 2021 at 7:15:00 PM

[up] Both are valid cuts. The former is an obviously intentional controversy generator. Custer’s Revenge is mostly known as one of the worst games of all time, being outrageously offensive with its premise and shallow once you get past that.

PlasmaPower Piece of Cake. Since: Jan, 2015
Piece of Cake.
#2364: Nov 28th 2021 at 6:50:17 PM

This entry in OvershadowedByControversy.Video Games feels kind of off and there's multiple things I'm thinking of with this but I can't really gel it all into words.

EDIT: I think this entry makes it sound like that the system is only ever known for the horrible pre-launch cycle its poor sales because of it. Around the time they removed the Kinect from the system was around the time they started to Win Back the Crowd, and sales had only gotten better since then (even if it never caught up to the PS4)

  • During the run up to its release and its early life, the Xbox One was defined by the massive outcry over Microsoft's (ultimately scrapped) plans to give the console DRM that would require it to connect to Xbox Live at least once every 24 hours and placed heavy restrictions on used games. Also controversial was the fact that Microsoft was bundling a Kinect sensor with every console and requiring users to have it plugged into the system for the Xbox One to function, which (a) increased the price of the systemnote  and (b) upset many people who weren't interested in Kinect or were worried about its potential privacy implications, not helped by Microsoft's initial response essentially telling users that they would have to accept this or be stuck in the past. The backlash was so swift and intense that Microsoft reversed the DRM and requirement that Kinect be plugged in at all times a week after E3; however, the ill will Microsoft had created by adopting these policies in the first place, along with the fact that there was initially no option to buy the console without a Kinect, turned many people off from the machine, some permanently swearing off Microsoft's products in the future. By the time Microsoft eliminated the last of these problems by releasing a cheaper, Kinect-free version of the One six months after its release, many people had long since moved on to rival platforms, giving the Xbox One (including the One X and One S models) a massive deficit in sales for its entire lifetime.

Edited by PlasmaPower on Nov 28th 2021 at 11:00:44 AM

Thomas fans needed! Come join me in the the show's cleanup thread!
themayorofsimpleton Short-Term Projects Herald | he/him from the Island of Koridai (Captain) Relationship Status: I won't say I'm in love
Short-Term Projects Herald | he/him
#2365: Nov 28th 2021 at 7:38:00 PM

Found this sub-bullet on an entry discussing Nazism on the Real Life subpage:

  • To make a case of how influential Hitler was, you only need to go back to 1938 when a Belgian by the name of Hendrik De Man proposed a plan to reform the government in the times of the Great Depression. It was meant to oppress fascism thanks to the introduction of social democracy of 5 classes controlled by technocrats. This man and his followers, who perpetrated socialism that would reform the Belgian nation into a better one, called themselves national socialists. After World War II, they realized just how unfortunate it was as a name to have and they renamed themselves demanists, after the creator of their ideology, to get rid of all the fascist and Nazi connotations they had.

Hendrik De Man was a Nazi collaborator, and "demanism" does not seem to exist as an ideology. Unless I am getting my facts incorrect, should this entry be cut?

EDIT: Whoops it's Hendrik in Dutch. My apologies to any Dutch speakers who read this.

Edited by themayorofsimpleton on Nov 29th 2021 at 8:42:05 AM

Works That Require Cleanup of Complaining | Troper Wall
VampireBuddha Calendar enthusiast from Ireland (Wise, aged troper) Relationship Status: Complex: I'm real, they are imaginary
Calendar enthusiast
#2366: Nov 28th 2021 at 10:51:40 PM

[up][up]Cut it. The boneheaded launch is well remembered, but people have plenty of other things to say about the XBone.

Ukrainian Red Cross
GoodGamer14 Since: Aug, 2015
#2367: Nov 29th 2021 at 6:24:21 AM

[up][up][up] Streamline the Xbox One entry.

DDRMASTERM do you wanna have a bad time? from Someplace, Utah, USA Since: Apr, 2013 Relationship Status: You cannot grasp the true form
do you wanna have a bad time?
#2368: Nov 29th 2021 at 11:00:59 AM

[up][up][up][up] I’d say it’s valid. The launch was absolutely overshadowed by the pre-release rumors and subsequent confirmation of them, and it never fully recovered as the PS4 outsold it 2:1.

Edited by DDRMASTERM on Nov 29th 2021 at 12:01:42 PM

SpongeBat1 We stan Clippy in this house from Quittersville, Failuretown, and Loserburg (Y2: Electric Boogaloo) Relationship Status: It's a god-awful small affair
We stan Clippy in this house
#2369: Nov 29th 2021 at 12:17:15 PM

I'm for keeping the Xbox One, since the disastrous announcement is what a lot of people (myself included) associate it with even after it turned around. The entry could be trimmed a bit, though.

Came for the tropes, stayed for the cleanup.
mightymewtron Word Up from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Word Up
#2370: Nov 29th 2021 at 12:28:28 PM

Isn't that just Tainted by the Preview though?

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
DDRMASTERM do you wanna have a bad time? from Someplace, Utah, USA Since: Apr, 2013 Relationship Status: You cannot grasp the true form
do you wanna have a bad time?
#2371: Nov 29th 2021 at 2:29:51 PM

[up] It is also that, but what puts it well above the standard example of Tainted by the Preview was the unprecedented restrictions on used games. Imagine if you had to pay a fee to borrow a friend’s dvd or blu-ray movie, because that was what very nearly happened with the Xbox One games before the absolute clobbering at E3 forced Microsoft to backtrack. Also, the always on Kinect didn’t help given the Snowden leaks shortly before that E3.

Edited by DDRMASTERM on Nov 29th 2021 at 3:30:43 AM

PlasmaPower Piece of Cake. Since: Jan, 2015
Piece of Cake.
#2372: Nov 29th 2021 at 3:54:40 PM

Yeah I'm thinking that the entry should at least end in a positive note, as that horrible pre-release cycle was what made Microsoft make their brand much more pro-consumer today. Even if the controversy put a shadow over the One, they used that generation to build back the momentum they once had.

Thomas fans needed! Come join me in the the show's cleanup thread!
DDRMASTERM do you wanna have a bad time? from Someplace, Utah, USA Since: Apr, 2013 Relationship Status: You cannot grasp the true form
do you wanna have a bad time?
#2373: Nov 29th 2021 at 7:52:33 PM

I'll go ahead and do a first draft of an Xbox One rewrite:

  • The Xbox One was defined by the massive outcry over Microsoft's (ultimately scrapped) plans to give the console DRM that would require it to connect to Xbox Live at least once every 24 hours and place heavy restrictions on used games. Also controversial was the bundling of the Kinect with every console and requiring it be plugged into the system for the Xbox One to function, which (a) increased the system price note  and (b) upset many people, especially since many worried about its potential privacy implications note . Worse was Don Mattrick's initial response essentially telling users that they would have to accept this or be stuck in the past. The backlash was so swift and intense that Microsoft reversed the DRM, the requirement that Kinect be plugged in at all times a week after E3, replaced Xbox division head Don Mattrick with Phil Spencer, and later cut the Kinect entirely to drop the system's price. While these actions have redeemed the brand in the eyes of most consumers, the Xbox One was never able to match the Playstation 4's sales numbers, in no small part due to the self-inflicted wounds from its pre-release.

I tried to be less gloomy and credit Microsoft's efforts to fix things, but the fact that the system was still outsold 2:1 by the PS4 limits how charitable I feel I can be about it. Nonetheless, I'm not a Microsoft expert, so feel free to expand if needed, thou

SomeNewGuy Since: Jun, 2009
#2374: Dec 1st 2021 at 4:43:58 PM

Does the recent entry on Video Games regarding THQ Nordic really count? While I do agree it was a massive fuckup, from what I've seen nowadays its only brought up on a certain gaming forum.

bwburke94 I am mad scientist! It's so cool! from 1.048596% (Y2: Electric Boogaloo) Relationship Status: She does the things you do, but she is an IBM
I am mad scientist! It's so cool!
#2375: Dec 1st 2021 at 4:53:39 PM

[up] "It's virtually impossible to talk about THQ Nordic without bringing up a 2019 incident where PR and marketing director Philipp Brock hosted an AMAnote  session on the infamous website 8chan."

Obvious cut is obvious. THQ isn't primarily associated with the AMA.

2025: the year it all ends?

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