TVTropes Now available in the app store!
Open

Follow TV Tropes

Following

Overshadowed By Controversy Cleanup

Go To

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

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
#4101: Oct 2nd 2023 at 4:02:41 AM

[up] I think it's been decided that intentionally stirring the pot doesn't count for the trope.

Once Upon A Time.
MinisterOfSinister From 'Ell's 'eart Oi stab at ye! from In the Hall of the Mountain King Since: Jan, 2014 Relationship Status: What is this thing you call love?
From 'Ell's 'eart Oi stab at ye!
#4102: Oct 2nd 2023 at 2:54:09 PM

Maybe. I've never heard of her. Though that Domestic Abuse thing could be an example. Again I dunno.

Siegfried1337 Calabash. from The Eastern Luminant Since: Sep, 2018 Relationship Status: Will you go out with me to the End?
Calabash.
#4103: Oct 2nd 2023 at 3:22:28 PM

The Domestic Abuse was the only thing I remembered about her. Plus, when Matthew Santaro got caught up in some drama regarding source citations, Nicole Arbour tried to gaslight everyone by claiming she was the good girl all along in an delisted interview with Dramaalert. This did not convince anyone.

Eh, good enough.
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
#4104: Oct 2nd 2023 at 5:33:09 PM

I don't know if the Domestic Abuse allegations are the most well known thing about her though.

Once Upon A Time.
Reymma RJ Savoy from Edinburgh Since: Feb, 2015 Relationship Status: Wanna dance with somebody
RJ Savoy
#4105: Oct 4th 2023 at 5:51:43 PM

If it's intentional provocation, maybe it fits No Such Thing as Bad Publicity?

This is on YMMV.My First Girlfriend Is A Gal:

It was a controversy, but I don't know if it overshadowed the show. It could be moved to the Woolseyism as it was one that was received badly.

Stories don't tell us monsters exist; we knew that already. They show us that monsters can be trademarked and milked for years.
MissConduct (Septatroper)
#4106: Oct 11th 2023 at 3:45:47 PM

[up] Not familiar with the work or controversy, but I'm tempted to call it They Changed It, Now It Sucks!, maybe?

Just to let everyone know, I finished the wick check on OBC and found a lot of misuse - mulling over flash-in-the-pan controversies (or controversies that only upset a minor portion of the viewerbase), using this trope as a "we do not support this creator's IRL worldviews and/or actions" disclaimer, Complaining About Celebrities You Don't Like, misuse that's a better fit for a variety of other tropesnote , and all-around poor examples. I'll let you know when the TRS thread goes live... we're currently 124th in the cue.

Edited by MissConduct on Oct 14th 2023 at 9:22:31 AM

Paperfly Buzz from On The Wall Since: Jun, 2022
Buzz
#4107: Oct 12th 2023 at 12:07:00 AM

I think the trope for a creator pushing back against criticism is Dear Negative Reader

Image Pickin' Backlog
MissConduct (Septatroper)
#4108: Oct 14th 2023 at 5:19:22 AM

It's probably a little bit of all three - the change itself was a Woolseyism, the response by the fans was They Changed It, Now It Sucks!, and then the response by Funimation was Dear Negative Reader.

Edited by MissConduct on Oct 14th 2023 at 8:19:38 AM

Siegfried1337 Calabash. from The Eastern Luminant Since: Sep, 2018 Relationship Status: Will you go out with me to the End?
Calabash.
#4109: Oct 21st 2023 at 12:06:56 AM

Ok, I'm thinking about making an entry for Ruben Sim, been waiting almost a year for this:

  • Ruben Sim used to be well-respected on Roblox due to his entertaining videos on the subject and eventually evolving to exposing various problems on the platform such as poor moderation. However, this reputation was shattered when he suddenly went on a vitriolic rant against the Furry Fandom on Twitter before going on to spread his hatred of them on his YouTube channel. While furries are a divisive topic in Roblox, his rant against them resulted in numerous phone calls against him, and later when he mocked the voicemails against him during the livestream, this resulted in a massive amount of death threats made against him. Because of this, it is impossible to talk about him without mentioning his hatred of furries.

Anything I need to clarify?

Edited by Siegfried1337 on Oct 21st 2023 at 12:07:08 PM

Eh, good enough.
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
#4110: Oct 21st 2023 at 5:19:44 PM

[up] Heavily doubt it counts or has come anywhere close to being more famous than his lawsuit from Roblox. Not to mention that he deliberately started the controversy so it wouldn't count even he was overshadowed by it. Also I think he said it was trolling.

Edited by TheLivingDrawing on Oct 21st 2023 at 8:25:32 AM

Once Upon A Time.
Siegfried1337 Calabash. from The Eastern Luminant Since: Sep, 2018 Relationship Status: Will you go out with me to the End?
Calabash.
#4111: Oct 21st 2023 at 7:58:56 PM

[up] I do believe the lawsuit was completely overshadowed by his own actions (he wanted to place them in Death Camps, for god's sake!). Also, how do you think it was trolling when he sent a wave of harassment against various furries?

Eh, good enough.
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
#4112: Oct 21st 2023 at 8:10:22 PM

[up] Even then it doesn't count since it was him intentionally stirring up controversy. However, if he was genuinely trolling and didn't intend for harassment to occur, he may count.

Edited by TheLivingDrawing on Oct 21st 2023 at 11:11:56 AM

Once Upon A Time.
Siegfried1337 Calabash. from The Eastern Luminant Since: Sep, 2018 Relationship Status: Will you go out with me to the End?
Calabash.
#4113: Oct 21st 2023 at 8:22:40 PM

[up] I'm just gonna assume he was trolling and probably didn't intend to harass furries.

Eh, good enough.
PlasmaPower Piece of Cake. Since: Jan, 2015
Piece of Cake.
#4114: Oct 23rd 2023 at 7:32:49 AM

YMMV.Mighty No 9

  • Overshadowed by Controversy:
    • By the time the game was released, about three years after its Kickstarter concluded, the initial hype for it had largely been overtaken by its massive Troubled Production and controversial choices made by the developers (including, but not limited to: the subsequent crowdfunding goals, the three delays [the third of which was followed by more than three months of silence], everything about Red Ash, and the Masterclass trailer).
    • The game’s poor reception and Troubled Production combined with its very high profile Kickstarter campaign also helped cast a large shadow over crowdfunding in games, with subsequent games funded with the model having to fight against the stigma of Crowdfunded games overpromising and underdelivering.

The second example falls under Examples Are Not General. Besides, this point was already made under Trend Killer in the trivia page for this game.

Thomas fans needed! Come join me in the the show's cleanup thread!
Siegfried1337 Calabash. from The Eastern Luminant Since: Sep, 2018 Relationship Status: Will you go out with me to the End?
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
#4116: Oct 24th 2023 at 6:06:10 AM

[up][up] I think I wrote that in the past when I was less savvy on site policy but later added the Trend Killer (a trope I didn't even know existed at the time) entry, which makes it redundant. Go ahead and cut.

Once Upon A Time.
Siegfried1337 Calabash. from The Eastern Luminant Since: Sep, 2018 Relationship Status: Will you go out with me to the End?
Calabash.
#4117: Oct 25th 2023 at 1:23:40 PM

Anyways, Ruben Sim a yes or no?

Eh, good enough.
Mrph1 he/him from Mercia (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: This is not my beautiful wife!
he/him
#4118: Oct 26th 2023 at 5:05:00 PM

From The Amazing Spider-Man (2022):

  • Overshadowed by Controversy: If any discussion is to be made about the run, it is practically guaranteed to be about the many unpopular creative decisions, including breaking up Peter/MJ, the character of Paul, Peter's immense Badass Decay, Kamala Kahn's widely promoted death and very quick resurrection, and Peter being infected with Norman's sins.

It's definitely controversial with long-term Spider-Man fans, but it's still Marvel's top-selling comic and getting relatively good reviews from comic websites, Amazon etc. (and the run's still in progress).

(Note that we've also got Bile Fascination and Critic-Proof added to the same page)

Does that meet the threshold? Or does it sound more like Complaining About Shows You Don't Like?

Siegfried1337 Calabash. from The Eastern Luminant Since: Sep, 2018 Relationship Status: Will you go out with me to the End?
SkylaNoivern Since: Sep, 2016
#4120: Oct 27th 2023 at 12:57:42 PM

On the main page.

  • I Will Survive, a Zootopia comic, is mostly known for the infamy surrounding it. The comic featured Judy Hopps finding out that she's pregnant with Nick's child but decides she doesn't want the baby. Nick, on the other hand, objects and tries to convince Judy to keep the baby, which leads to a violent argument between the two and eventually their breakup. It quickly became a laughingstock among people for how blatantly out-of-character it portrays the two and being over-the-top with the melodrama. Borba intended to show how even a One True Pairing like WildeHopps can fall apart. However, because he chose an unwanted pregnancy and Judy wanting to terminate it as the reason for their breakup, the comic drew hordes of pro-life and pro-choice commentators who cared little for the characters and focused obsessively on the potential abortion, even though the comic tried to avoid taking a side. As such he is prominently remembered as the guy who wrote the "Zootopia abortion comic" even though he has done a lot of other things besides it.

I don't think the comic is overshadowed by any controversy? Most discussions I see of it are the memes based on the comic being Narmy (for example, the fact the apartment shown is based on the one from Seinfeld).

DoktorvonEurotrash Lex et Veritas from Not a place of honour (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#4121: Oct 27th 2023 at 1:04:56 PM

[up]Yeah, the comic is famous for all the wrong reasons, but it's not "overshadowed" by anything, since the controversy is the content itself.

I can see it be a Never Live It Down for the creator, though.

Siegfried1337 Calabash. from The Eastern Luminant Since: Sep, 2018 Relationship Status: Will you go out with me to the End?
Calabash.
#4122: Oct 27th 2023 at 4:40:46 PM

I slightly edited my Ruben Sim draft:

  • Ruben Sim used to be well-respected on Roblox due to his entertaining videos on the subject and eventually evolving to exposing various problems on the platform such as poor moderation. However, this reputation was shattered when he suddenly went on a vitriolic trolling streak against the Furry Fandom on Twitter before going on to spread it on his YouTube channel. While furries are a divisive topic in Roblox, his trolling against them resulted in his fans taking in seriously and begin harassing them even though he didn't intend to to, which in return, resulted in a massive amount of death threats made against him. Because of this, it is impossible to talk about him without mentioning the furry trolling incident.

Eh, good enough.
Siegfried1337 Calabash. from The Eastern Luminant Since: Sep, 2018 Relationship Status: Will you go out with me to the End?
MsOranjeDiscoDancer 2much2furious from the Saja Boys' last performance! Since: Aug, 2022 Relationship Status: Will you go out with me to the End?
2much2furious
#4124: Nov 1st 2023 at 1:30:26 PM

[up]i am not a roblox fan or a furry so take with a grain of salt: im not so sure if he really is known as 'that weird furry hater who wanted death camps' outside of the furry fandom; that said as i am not into roblox and the furries i know are not in that fandom, id wait for more opinions


did this thread cover Beef? forum search is rubbish

for context: David Chou, a big supporting actor in Beef, told a story about sexually assaulting his masseuse on his podcast back in 2014. whether or not it was a joke it got a lot of people angry

when Chou started in Beef one of the journalists who had been tracking him for some time reposted the videos, which lead to a tonne of controversy and calls for removal.

the showrunners, Ali Wong and Steven Yuen, defended him and said the story was made up, which led to a lot of angry flame wars on twitter

Esquire has a handy writeup, as does Salon, and there was a massive Twitter War - this is the tip of the iceberg, and i can bring up more flame wars

i may be dead inside but at least i have Mystery :,)
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
#4125: Nov 1st 2023 at 1:58:08 PM

The thing about Ruben Sim is that he was involved in a rather high profile lawsuit with Roblox. I heavily doubt his trolling against furries. I myself am a furry who watched it unfold and the first thing I think of when I hear his name is his crusade against Roblox.

Once Upon A Time.

Total posts: 6,229
Top