By the time 2014 rolled on, the backlash had become its own form of entertainment.
Late-night TV mocked him constantly.
Comment sections treated him like a villain.
Even people who never listened to his music had an opinion.
There was even a real petition calling for his deportation from the United States that went viral online—less about law, more about the mood of the moment.
And then, something dangerous happened:
When the world decides someone is a joke… it stops seeing them as a pe