Notoriety became a career asset once poptimism demanded respect for fans’ tastes

Evidence

Hilton’s rise marked a shift in the cultural understanding of fame. In previous decades, notoriety still carried social penalties. Hilton proved that controversy—and even widespread hatred—could be a career asset. Guinness World Records 2007 named her the most “overrated” celebrity, but she accepted such derision as part of her winning formula. Poptimism made this new kind of fame possible. Perhaps only a small minority of fans loved her with utter sincerity, but the new moral demand to respect their tastes resulted in a collective acceptance of Hilton’s stardom. — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 148

Categorization

• XREF: Poptimism-as-enforced-tolerance dovetails with the reader’s omnivore monoculture thesis — everyone must respect everyone’s taste, so nothing can be excluded. — connects to: Feigned indifference to fame makes online popularity seem deserved — Alice E. Marwick, Instafame: Luxury Selfies in the…, 51; Pop stardom now rewards reflexive ironic disavowal rather than sincerity — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk: The Collected and Unpublished…, 1200
• QUESTION: Is poptimism the cause of notoriety becoming acceptable, or a rationalization after the fact? Worth chasing the direction of causality.