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{{trope}}
{{quote|''If anyone '''really''' pisses you off, depict them in your comic as a [[Straw Critic|ridiculous strawman]] and mock them with infuriating self-righteousness. You know, [[Hypocrisy Nod|kind of like exactly what I'm doing now]].''
|Ben [[Zero Punctuation|'Yahtzee']] Croshaw, [[So You Want To/Write a Gaming Comic|offering some advice for budding web comic artists]].}}
A specific form of [[Take That]], in which the producers of a show respond to criticism of the show through the show itself, either through subtle in-jokes that obliquely refer to the criticism, putting lines of dialogue into the mouths of the characters, or presenting parodies of their critics. The program may even [[Fourth Wall Mail Slot|break the fourth wall]] to directly address the critics.
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{{examples}}
== [[Advertising]] ==
* Exclusive promos for the ''[[Aqua Teen Hunger Force]]'' [[The Movie|movie]] made fun of the critics that didn't like it. One featured the Mooninites giving the pinky to a fake critic named [http://lionel-loves-movies.blogspot.com/ Lionel]. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErLKWPjYqWw Another one] featured Carl describing any critic that didn't like the movie as a 97 year old. Ouch.
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* In a [[Crowning Moment of Funny|brilliant]] piece of [[Self-Deprecation]], the distributor for Australian energy drink Mother released [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LbzIHg6lKI this] commercial after surveys revealed most people hated the taste of the drink.
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* A "putting dialogue into the mouth of the character" example from episoe 22 of ''[[Kaleido Star]] New Wings'':
{{quote|'''Cathy''': Right now it's nothing but a nice little setup that follows the rules. The only ones who will accept this kind of textboox construction are the professional critics!}}
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* From ''[[The Sandman]]'' story "Calliope," one of the many story ideas Ric Madoc devises {{spoiler|after he is cursed with "ideas in abundance" by the Sandman, in a case of [[Be Careful What You Wish For]]}} involves "the fraternity of critics": "In reality a dark brethren, linked by profane rites and blood vows. To destroy an author they sacrifice a child and perform a [[Incredibly Lame Pun|critical mass]]..."
* [[DC Comics|Dan DiDio]] actually turned one of his online critics into a supervillain so he could be beaten up. A really lame supervillain seeking [[Disproportionate Retribution]]. And for [[Unfortunate Implications|extra insult]], he decided to make the villain [[Camp Gay]].
* DC has a few of these: Funky Flashman (created by [[Jack Kirby]] as a thinly-disguised and none-too-affectionate parody of [[Stan Lee]]) and Superboy-Prime (a parody of the very worst aspects of the
* The entire reason [[Morbius]] was even created was done as a Take That to the [[Comics Code]]; his first appearance was only months after the Code had relaxed many of its policies, including one that forbid depictions of supernatural beings like vampires.
* On a similar note, the series ''[[Afterlife with Archie]]'' and its sister series ''[[Chilling Adventures of Sabrina]]'' combined this with [[Self-Deprecation]]. Originally, [[Archie Comics]] was the company that argued loudest for the [[Comics Code]], and years later ended up the last mainstream company to abide by it. Eventually, even they decided to abandon the Code, introducing a title that had numerous elements that would have violated the original Code, simply to mock a system they now considered an [[Old Shame]].
* Marvel actually gave the finger to the Comics Code ''a lot'' once they decided to run their titles without it. [https://cdn3.whatculture.com/images/2017/11/ac7d016f73e66a5e-600x338.jpg This scene with Ant Man and Wasp] from ''[[The Avengers|The Avengers (vol.3) #71]]'' is a good example of something they likely did just to inform them they'd no longer take their crap. (Be warned, it truly pushes the limits of what can be considered SFW.)
* Fanfic author [[Jared Ornstead]], who [[Hot-Blooded|does not deal well with any kind of criticism]], has been known to write plot developments into his stories solely to spite reviewers or other commentators who have not been slavishly worshipful of his genius. And then crow about it in an author's note at the end of the chapter, just to make sure they notice.
== [[Film]] ==
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* In ''[[Gremlins]] 2'' the titular monsters overrun a TV studio. In one scene a critic is ranting about how horrible the original ''Gremlins'' is, using actual lines from a bad review, is mobbed by gremlins and starts yelling "I was just kidding! It was a 10! A 10!" Unusually, the critic was actually Leonard Maltin, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtUA810cUhk playing himself] and reading out his own review; a rare case where the producers ''and'' the critic seem to be taking things in equally good humour. (The entire sequel could be seen as a [[Take That]] to the original, despite being directed by the same guy.)
** Elsewhere, the sequel demonstrates its own self-effacing good humour by including a scene where people discuss the inconsistencies in the "don't feed them after midnight" rule (before being mauled by gremlins) and another scene where Kate (Phoebe Cates) is prevented from launching into a maudlin speech about why she doesn't like Presidents' Day, parodying her speech about Christmas in the original film.
* Fairly mild, but critic Pauline Kael gave negative reviews to ''[[Star Wars]] Episode IV: [[A New Hope]]'' and ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]],'' leading to [[George Lucas]] naming a villain in his later movie ''[[Willow]]'' after her.
** Also in ''Willow'', the two-headed dragon is named "Ebersisk" after Siskel and [[Roger Ebert|Ebert]] - although the name is never mentioned in the film.
* [[Kevin Smith]] responded to criticisms of his film Jersey Girl by stating [http://www.viewaskew.com/news/mar04/2.html "it wasn't made for critics"].
** He said that about ''[[Dogma]]'' too. Or maybe he only said that about ''Dogma'' and it was still in response to critics not liking ''Jersey Girl''. Either way I'm positive he said that about ''Dogma'', which is interesting since [[Insult Backfire|critics loved the movie]].
** Then there's the scene from ''[[Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back]]'' where Jay and Bob blast some internet critics for making fun of them (in context of making fun of a comic book that is based on them in-universe).
{{quote|'''Jay:''' ''[as [[Silent Bob]] transcribes on an internet movie site comment]'' All you motherfuckers are gonna pay. You are the ones who are the ball-lickers. We're gonna fuck your mothers while you watch and cry like little bitches. Once we get to Hollywood and find those Miramax fucks who are making that movie, we're gonna make 'em eat our shit, then shit out our shit, then eat their shit which is made up of our shit that we made 'em eat. Then you're all you motherfucks are next. Love, Jay and Silent Bob.
** He infamously did it twice in the wake of his
** Bitterness at his perceived abuse by critics at least partially led to the decision to self-distribute ''[[Red State]]''
* In ''[[They Live!]]'',
▲** Bitterness at his perceived abuse by critics at least partially led to the decision to self-distribute ''[[Red State]]''—a bold move that seems to be paying off according to comments that he made on recent [[Smod Casts]].
▲* In ''[[They Live!]]'', {{spoiler|After Nada destroys the signal and the aliens' true forms are revealed}}, a pair of critics on TV (clearly [[Expy|Expies]] for Siskel and [[Roger Ebert|Ebert]], are shown as aliens, complaining that directors like [[George Romero]] and [[John Carpenter]] "need to show some restraint". This is a bit odd, considering that at least Ebert greatly championed ''[[Night of the Living Dead]]'' and ''[[Halloween (film)|Halloween]]'' when many critics reviled them as trash, although Ebert hadn't been as kind to some of their later films.
* The villain of ''[[Galaxy Quest]]'' is named after Andrew Sarris because a producer had a grudge.
* ''[[History of the World Part One]]'' begins by showing the artist of the first cave painting, followed shortly by the first critic. The critic's response? He pisses on the painting.
* A guy who shows up at the beginning of [[The Asylum]]'s ''The Hitchhiker'' was based on a critic who writer and director Leigh Scott hates. He's depicted as an [[Ambiguously Gay]] porn reviewer.
* Meta example, * [[Adam Sandler]] claimed that if ''[[Uncut Gems]]'' didn't win the Academy Award it was nominated for, he would make his ''worst'' movie ever, and seems to have followed through with that threat by making ''[[Hubie Halloween]]''<ref>Although, whether it is his ''worst'' is debatable. Most give that moniker to ''[[The Ridiculous Six]]'', and ''Hubie Halloween'' has a score of about 48%/49% on [[Rotten Tomatoes]] is better than many of his films.</ref>
== [[Literature]] ==
* Showing that this is [[Older Than They Think]], the works of [[Ovid]] might qualify, as he had nothing but contempt for the government and it showed in his works. Despite already being popular, Ovid was exiled by Emperor Augustus for unspecified reasons, possibly for criticizing his controversial marriage laws and - maybe - sleeping with his daughter. As a result of this, Ovid's later works have a clear anti-authority bent to them. It's hard to spot unless you have access to earlier versions of the myths he writes about, but the most glaring example might be the story of Perseus and Medusa, where both Poseidon and Athena are victims of [[Adaptational Villainy]], the former raping poor Medusa and the latter cursing her because of it. Previous versions of the myth had Medusa born a gorgon, a daughter of Typhon and Echidna, much like many other famous monsters. By changing Medusa's backstory so drastically, he changed the narrative from "gods aid heroes in slaying monsters" to "gods are jerks who toy with the lives of mortals without fear of repercussions." And that's far from the only example.
* Uh, ''[[The Divine Comedy]]'', especially the ''[[Inferno]]'' section. Dante actually intended this as a political satire aimed at the corrupt government of his home city of Florence, who had exiled him. Many of the city's lawmakers (and other powerful figures he had issues with) are shown burning in Hell for various perceived crimes.
* In Michael Crichton's ''[[Next]]'', Crichton wrote a minor character into his book that was currently being tried for raping a toddler, with the commentary that while his penis was fairly small, he still did significant damage to the child. Strangely enough, the rapist's name was almost identical to that of a man who had criticized Crichton's last book. The critic found this very funny.
* SF&F author and Vietnam veteran [[David Drake]] was reviewed unfavorably early in his career by reviewer Charles Platt, who said that Drake wouldn't write the things he did [[Did Not Do the Research|if he'd ever seen war]]. In response, many of his works feature a reprehensible character named "Platt" who typically dies violently. About the best any "Platt" can hope for is to be stupid.
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** [[David Langford]] deconstructs Anthony's attitude to critics [http://news.ansible.co.uk/a72.html here]:
{{quote|"In the British Fantasy Society Newsletter's 'Desert Island Books' spot he chooses, for his 'single item of no practical use whatsoever', a critic. Also he would take Finnegans Wake plus a guide to understanding it (written presumably by a cr*t*c), and the complete works of George Bernard Shaw (that fine dramatic and musical cr*t*c)."}}
* [[A. E. Van Vogt]] received a scathing review from [[Damon Knight]] after the magazine publication of his novel ''[[The World of Null-A]].'' He answered the criticism in the introduction of the book publication. Oddly enough, he took it very well, revising parts of the book where Knight had pointed out plot holes, and even commented that Knight's review was very well-written.
* Artist Raoul Hausmann's [https://web.archive.org/web/20110828173126/http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?workid=5867&tabview=text The Art Critic].
* [[Lord Byron]] famously satirised the various Scottish critics who had panned his early verse, in the poem
* [[Terry Pratchett]] has a handful of [[Discworld]] books where, alongside the usually glowing review snippets you see on the covers and first few pages of books, ends with one from ''The Late Review'' that reads "Doesn't even write in chapters ... a complete amateur ... hasn't a clue".
** The quote is also used by a vapid and shallow witch in ''[[
* [[Dean Koontz]]'s novel ''Relentless'' was about a cabal of sinister critics trying to drive down cultural standards.
* Even [[Voltaire]] gets into this in his novel ''[[Candide]]''. In the later chapters there's Count Pococurante who owns an extensive library of great literature. But he's incapable of enjoying anything and ruthlessly critiques all of it.
** The character also counts as [[Self-Parody]] - all of his literary opinions are those of Voltaire himself, who also a pretty snarky guy - but the character takes it to insufferable levels.
* Tolkien's foreword to ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' features the following: "Some who have read the book, or at any rate have reviewed it, have found it boring, absurd, or contemptible; and I have no cause to complain, since I have similar opinions of their works."
* [[Older Than Feudalism]]: 1st Century BC Roman poet Catullus' poem [[wikipedia:Catullus 16|16]] is a response to two of his critics, and has been described as one of the most offensive poems ever.
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{{quote|You were invited by the plaintiff's counsel to consider upon a somewhat higher plane the activities of Miss Trott, which are admittedly creative, than those of Mrs. Tulip, as being chiefly occupied in tearing to pieces the things which other men have made. But this distinction, however attractive to the lay mind, I must ask you to dismiss from your own. In many ponderous and ill‑drafted enactments our ancestors have been careful to secure to the most repellent of the King's subjects the common rights of free expression so long as it takes the harmless form of venomous and enraging words. }}
* ''Illuminatus!'' has a pre-emptive strike on its critics, by including the worst possible review of the novel [[Mind Screw|in the text of the novel itself]], and attributing it to a deeply obnoxious [[Camp Gay]] who admits that he hasn't actually read the novel itself.
* [[Amanda McKittrick Ros]] evidently was very creative at insulting the critics, those "clay-crabs of corruption" and "evil minded snapshots of spleen". Of course, her love of alliteration in itself tempts the other authors to give articles about her books titles like "[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1529100/Awful-author-addicted-to-alliteration-achieves-acclaim-again.html Awful author addicted to alliteration achieves acclaim again]" or "[https://www.firstthings.com/article/2012/10/brilliantly-bad-books Brilliantly Bad Books]".
▲== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* The short-lived show ''[[Vengeance Unlimited]]'' had "[[Ironic Episode Title|Critical]]", an episode that incorporated many critics' negative statements. Most of these lines were given to the naive 16-year-old computer whiz who was unwittingly helping the [[Monster of the Week|villain of the week]], just to show how much they thought of the critics. Of course, this time the critics happened to have the show pegged, and it was canned two episodes later.
** The fact that [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] aired the show opposite of ''[[Friends]]'' at the height of that show's popularity probably didn't help matters either.
* ''[[Murphy Brown]]'' addressed then-Vice President [[Dan Quayle]]'s well-publicized criticisms of the show and its favourable depiction of a single mother directly through the show. This eventually culminated in a [[Take That]] right back at him when they arranged for a dump-truck full of potatoes to be dumped on his front porch, in reference to Quayle's equally well-publicized 'potato' / 'potatoe' gaff. "It's a good thing he didn't misspell 'fertilizer.'"
* In a ''[[Dinosaurs]]'' episode Earl comments, when watching a puppet show, that while the aesthetic of using puppets makes it appear at first glance to be a children's show, the actual content and themes of the show make it clear that it isn't, may refer to criticism of the show being for children. Or something to that effect.
* The ''[[Doctor Who]]'' story "The Greatest Show In The Galaxy" is pretty much based around this trope, complete with a stereotypical [[Fan Boy]] whining that the circus isn't as good as it used to be, and the villains of the piece being a metaphor for television executives.
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* Similarly to the Richard Ingrams example, the lengthy ''[[Not the Nine O'Clock News]]'' parody of ''[[The Two Ronnies]]'' came about after Ronnie Barker called the show obscene, making the point that someone whose entire routine relied on [[Double Entendre]] possibly shouldn't be throwing that particular stone.
* ''[[The West Wing]]'' featured an episode where Josh posts a message about some minor issue of government procedure on an internet forum. Though the site is actually dedicated to him, the users (including a forum administrator "sitting in a muu-muu and smoking Parliament Lights") attack him for getting the issue wrong. Creator Aaron Sorkin wrote this episode as a response to his experience using the website [[Television Without Pity]].com, where he was a member for quite some time. Sorkin posted a topic about a dispute he had with a staff writer, which led to the site's users attacking him.
* [[Alice Cooper]]'s guest appearance on ''[[The Muppet Show]]'' was likely an attempt to troll the [[Moral Guardians]] who claimed his music was intentionally promoting Satanism. In the episode, Cooper is an actual agent of the Devil, but [[Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain|not a very competent one.]]
== [[Music]] ==
* Many people think that the song
* The entire (albeit lighthearted) point of "Silly Love Songs," [[Paul McCartney]]'s attempt to combine a, well, love song with a defense of the [[Silly Love Songs|entire genre]]. Rock critics ''hated'' 'silly love songs' in [[The Seventies]], and took it out on the musicians
* [[The Eagles]]' song "The Long Run" has been interpreted as a response to music critics:
{{quote|People talking about us, ain't got nothing else to do
When it all comes down, we will still come through in the long run
* [[Adam And The Ants]]' song
* [[Tim Minchin]]'s "Song for Phil Daoust"
{{quote|Just wanna say, Phil Daoust, occasional guardian newspaper journal-oust
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But I still wanna cut big chunks of flesh out of your stupid face,
And make your children watch while I force you to eat them. }}
* "99 Problems" by [[Jay
* Perhaps the most direct version of this trope came from [[Billy Joel]], who, early in his career, actually tore up newspapers on stage that gave him bad reviews.
* [[Kanye West|And take THIS,]] [[Large Ham|HATERS!]]
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{{quote|"Yo, fuck 2DopeBoyz and fuck Nah Right, and any other fuck-nigga-ass blog that can't put an 18 year old nigga making his own fucking beats, covers, videos and all that shit."}}
* "On Fire" by [[Eminem]] features the line ''"So, the next time you blog, try to spit a flow / You want to criticize, dog? Try a little more"'' which is assumed to be directed at former rapper Nick Cannon who claimed that a song on his ''Relapse'' album proved him to be [http://idolator.com/5229092/nick-cannon-stands-up-to-eminem-sits-back-down-almost-immediately racist and jealous] of the relationship he now has with his ex-girlfriend [[Mariah Carey]].
** The entirety of ''The Marshall Mathers LP
* [[Queen]]'s "[[Highlander|Princes of the Universe]]" has a verse that's commonly seen as a Take That to critics who thought them past their prime: ''"People talk about you / People say you've had your day / I'm a man that will go far / Fly the moon and reach for the stars / With my sword and head held high / Got to pass the test first time, yeah / I know that people talk about me / I hear it every day / But I can prove them wrong 'cause I'm right first time"''
* Her Space Holiday's "Meet the Pressure". There's something incredibly petty about saying that the wives of your critics masturbate while listening to the very words they criticised.
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{{quote|The golden Cash Cow had a body like the great cows of ancient Egypt
And a face like the face of Robert Tilton (without the horns) }}
* [[BTS (band)|BTS]] has released some songs directed to their haters and anti-fans. The most notorious of those is 2018' "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBuZEGYXA6E IDOL]", who is openly directed to those who had criticized them on terms that because they are an idol group they had no artistry <ref>In Korea, there is a distinction between "artist", as in independent musicians, and "idol", who are managed by entertainment companies and tend to be more manufactured. BTS, while ostensibly being an idol [[Boy Band]], have more input on their own work than most K-pop groups, blurring this distinction.</ref> and to those who called them sellouts. The promotional music video goes even further, with the members doing things and wearing stuff they were criticized in the past for, and, to rub it more on the face on those who called founder member RM a sellout for becoming part of an idol band instead of staying in the rap scene, they released [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1scjjbfNsk a version of the song] featuring [[Nicki Minaj]].
** "MIC Drop" is basically dedicated to telling their haters how big they are now despite all the discouragement received.
{{quote|''Did you see my bag? (where?) Did you see my bag? (where?)
''It's hella trophies and it's hella thick (hella thick, hella thick)
''What you think 'bout that? (well) What you think 'bout that? (well)
''I bet it got my haters hella sick (hella sick)
''Come and follow me, follow me with your signs up
''I'm so firin', firin', boy, your time's up
''Keep on runnin' and runnin' until I catch up
''How you dare? How you dare? How you dare?}}
== [[Newspaper Comics]] ==
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{{quote|[[Straw Critic]] Parents (essentially): The comics pa-- The school play is for fun and relaxation. If we wanted cancer-themed melo-- [[True Art Is Angsty|"art"]] we'd watch ''[[Grey's Anatomy|Gray's Ana]]''-- go to a museum.}}
* [[Small Name, Big Ego|Brooke McEldowney]], author of ''[[9 Chickweed Lane]]'', recently had his author avatar Thorax breezily condemn anyone as imbeciles who didn't like the [[Pow Zap Wham Cam|warped perspective]], [[Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness|ornate dialogue]] and [[Family-Unfriendly Aesop|Ayn-Randesque morals]] of his characters. He had earlier blamed his being forced to move his more openly sexualized fantasy strip ''Pibgorn'' off the newspaper comics page on the same imbeciles, who were besides which stuck in the past.
== [[Professional Wrestling]] ==
* In recent years,{{when}} the [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWE]] has made numerous [[Subtext]] references to [[Triple H]]'s real-life marriage to [[Vince McMahon]]'s daughter [[Stephanie McMahon]], which many critics claimed was the only reason [[Triple H]] became a main eventer.
** In 2006, when Stephanie was expecting their first child, [[Shawn Michaels]] asked [[Triple H]] who he thought got her pregnant. [[Triple H]]'s response: "I don't know, but I tell you what - that guy's gotta be one hell of a stud!"
** When Stephanie gave birth on the same night that RAW aired live, Michaels explained [[Triple H]]'s absence by saying he was at the hospital without the McMahons knowing, then said, "Between you and me, I think he knows who the father is."
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** On RAW's 15th anniversary, when the McMahons tried to shoot a family portrait, [[Triple H]] came out and said he felt like he was a part of their family. Later, Stephanie got back at Vince for all the times he humiliated her by kissing [[Triple H]]. Trip's response: "All right Steph, see you at home... I mean, your brother's a gnome..."
** Of course, this all came full circle in the buildup to WrestleMania 25, when [[Triple H]] and the WWE not only admitted to the marriage on TV, but used it to hype his match with [[Randy Orton]] by having Orton assault Stephanie. On an episode of ''Smackdown'', [[Triple H]] called his marriage "the worst-kept secret in the WWE".
* [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWE]] had a infamously horrible feud between [[Triple H]] and [[
* During the early turn of the century, WWE had the Right To Censor heel stable, which was a direct shot at the [[wikipedia:Parents Television Council|Parent's Television Council]] and other such media watchdog groups. Interestingly, the RTC was actually pretty successful - giving the WWE a kayfabe reason to make some of the changes the PTC and allies were calling for.
** [[WCW]] had a much less well known stable of a similar nature called "Standards and Practices", consisting of Lenny Lane, Lodi, and Ms. Hancock. This one was created by [[Vince Russo]] after he got pissed off at Turner Broadcasting for limiting violence and edgy material on WCW Nitro broadcasts. WCW and Russo being, well, WCW and Russo, S&P was never really used for much of anything, and they disappeared fairly quickly. However, it was Stacy Keibler's start in wrestling. And really, it's hard to complain about Stacy Keibler dressing as a secretary and doing table dances. (Incidentally, if you're wondering why a team called Standards and Practices would have a valet doing erotic dances, ask Russo, because no one else has a clue)
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{{quote|'''[[Hulk Hogan]]''': [[Hilarious in Hindsight|The Internet's got all the scoops!]]}}
* Dave Meltzer was also the target of UWF promoter Herb Abrams's wrath, in the form of a [[Jobber]] named Davey "The Observer" Meltzer. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ml1-G6xSW8 Watch here] as Steve Williams methodically takes apart "Meltzer" and then stuffs a copy of [[The Wrestling Observer Newsletter]] in his mouth as a final humiliation.
== [[Radio]] ==
* Showing an uncharacteristically pointy side, radio comedy team [[Bob and Ray|Bob & Ray]] reacted to ''[[New York Magazine]]'' critic John Simon's negative review of their stage show by incorporating him into their skits as 'The Worst Person in the World' - a character who never spoke, just made rude noises while other characters (that is, Bob and/or Ray) commented loudly on his uncouth manners. (Broadcaster Keith Olbermann later picked up the concept, ''sans'' specific attack, and used it in his ''[[Countdown with Keith Olbermann|Countdown]]''.)
▲== [[Sports]] ==
* Game Six of the 1995 World Series, which clinched the championship for the Atlanta Braves, might be seen as a Take That to the Braves' most overly critical fans. Tom Glavine was the winning pitcher with eight one-hit innings; many Atlanta fans booed him throughout the year for being the Braves' union representative during the previous year's strike. The game's lone run was scored on Dave Justice's home run; Justice had been booed throughout that very game after claiming the Braves fans hadn't been enthusiastic throughout the series.▼
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* ''[[Dungeons
** Though it must be noted that the whole thing was ''very'' tongue-in-cheek. By the same token, it looks as though Wizards itself was represented by the Red Dragon, who does
* In ''[[Ars Magica]]'', one of the backstory's major bad guys was the Scottish wizard Davnalleous, named for Dave Nalle, a game designer and reviewer who was critical of the game early on. Later editions of the game explained the name as an attempted Latinization of a more plausibly Gaelic-sounding name (Damhan Allaidh, which translates as "Spider".
== [[Theater]] ==
* The Sondheim show ''Merrily We Roll Along'' features a Broadway producer who dismisses a certain song as not having "a tune you can hum," which Sondheim himself has heard once or twice during his career. Later on (or earlier, actually), when the tune has been revised with a new lyric and accompaniment, the song becomes a chart-topping success.
* The bout of [[Volleying Insults]] in ''[[Waiting for Godot]]'', which is won decisively with the ultimate epithet: "Crrritic!"
* The 2007 production of Shakespeare's ''[[The Comedy of Errors]]'' at the [[w:Stratford Festival|Stratford
* A stylish (as if we expect any less) example from [[Oscar Wilde]], ''[[The Importance of Being Earnest]]'':
{{quote|'''Algernon:''' The truth is rarely pure and never simple. Modern life would be very tedious if it were either, and modern literature a complete impossibility.
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'''Algernon:''' Literary criticism is not your forte, my dear fellow. Don't try it. You should leave that to people who haven't been at a University. They do it so well in the daily papers. }}
* [[Gilbert and Sullivan|W. S. Gilbert]], a trained lawyer, managed to sue one particularly annoying critic.
* Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg has Beckmesser, the mediocre, talentless, envious 'master'. He fails
* In one of the most extreme cases ever, magician Criss Angel found out during an April 2009 performance of his much-pilloried Las Vegas show ''[[Criss Angel Believe]]'' that celebrity blogger Perez Hilton was in the audience...using Twitter to tell his followers that the show stunk. During the curtain call, Criss pointed him out to the audience and profanely dissed him. The media stir in Vegas this caused proved a setback for Criss, as commentators derided him as unprofessional and a disgrace to the Vegas entertainment scene.
* The [[Moliere]] play ''The School for Wives Criticized'' is [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin]]; a short play about his previous play, ''The School for Wives'', in which fans of the play enter into a discussion with people who didn't like it. The fans are of course intelligent, witty people, while the [[Straw Critic
== [[Video Games]] ==
* The computer game ''[[Peggle]]'' has often been described (notably by Ben [[Zero Punctuation|'Yahtzee']] Croshaw) as being pure luck with no room for skill. In the sequel ''Peggle Nights'', if the player attains the relatively difficult achievement of 100% Clear on all the levels, the quip of the "lucky" rabbit character Warren in the trophy room is "You cleared all the pegs? I'm starting to think there's more to this game than chance!"
* ''[[Might and Magic|Might and Magic II]]'' was given a coldly negative review by CGW's longtime RPG critic [[Caustic Critic| Scorpia.]] The third - and much improved - game [http://crpgaddict.blogspot.com/2017/09/might-and-magic-iii-mudcrabs-and-mud.html included a female monster with a rather unflattering appearance named after her.] Ironically, [[Insult Backfire| Scorpia would later say]] that it was [[Actually Pretty Funny]]
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* ''[[Shortpacked]]'' frequently broke up its "Flashbacked!" plotline to use Robin as a surrogate for criticism that his comic had gotten too serious. [http://www.shortpacked.com/d/20071112.html "The End of Shortpacked"] was interpreted by many as a direct response to the John Solomon review, featuring a hostile customer upset that his opinion on how to run the store was not taken as the gospel and declaring the staff to be too arrogant to listen to him and regular customers to be merely [[Lickspittle|yes-men]].
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120403043337/http://www.penny-arcade.com/2004/3/24/ In direct response] to [[Kevin Smith]]'s statement (see in Film above), the [[Penny Arcade]] creators came up with a [[
** This backfired spectacularly as Twisp and Catsby became incredibly popular. No critic ''wanted'' to criticize them.
** [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/8/30/ Penny Arcade also had a variant (inversion?)]: after making fun of various game reviewers for years, they worry about the critics' response to their own game. Cue cut to the big review sites throwing a party: "Hey, guys - I just started my review! Do you know if there is a number less than zero?"
* ''[[VG Cats]]'' ran a strip with a controversial [http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=269 abortion joke]. “Now some people weren't happy about the content of that last strip, and [http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=270 we can't have someone not happy]. Not on the '''internet'''.”
* ''Delve'' is a webcomic meant to be an [[Affectionate Parody]] pf [[Dungeons & Dragons]], which has quite a lot of gratuitous nudity. The author claims his first job was once where he continually had to censor the works of other artists (as in, covering up the nudity of Japanese video game characters) and was sickened by the hypocrisy of it, deciding to use ''Delve'' as an outlet. You can [http://thisis.delvecomic.com/NewWP/comic/in-too-deep/ read it here], but be warned, it is ''very'' NSFW.
== [[Web Original]] ==
* The entire purpose of [[The Cinema Snob]] is to lampoon movie critics who hate any film that isn't meant to be a pure work of art. This is made even more brilliant when you know that the real Brad Jones actually likes most of the schlock and smut he reviews.
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* Occasionally happens in ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'', usually through the mouth of the Comic Book Guy. One notable example had him point out a continuity error that the producers had made ("Should The Simpsons get a horse?" When they did have one in an earlier episode, with completely different circumstances), followed by Homer asking "Anyone care what this guy thinks?" - with the entire town yelling "No!" at him.
** [http://www.somethingawful.com/d/news/leaked-simpsons-movie.php This] [[Something Awful]].com faked script for "The Simpsons Movie" mentions this joke in particular when it states "[[Lampshade Hanging|Good, if we point out our flaws then we don't need to fix them]]."
** The "anyone care what this guy thinks?" thing was probably just making fun of nerds and fans in general that would care, but it became [[Hilarious in Hindsight]] when IGN gave the 90s flashback episode a 3\10, not because of the level of humor, but ''because it broke continuity''. Does anybody care what this guy thinks? No.
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*** The Poochie episode was as much about [[Executive Meddling]] and the [[Totally Radical]] as it was fan criticism, though Comic Book Guy's critique tends to be what it's best remembered for (that and Poochie's [[Bus Crash|ultimate fate]]).
* ''[[Family Guy]]'' have an episode that closed with Peter responding to criticism of the content of the show by saying, more or less, [[Some Anvils Need to Be Dropped|"If you disapprove of a show stop whining, don't watch it or let your kids watch it, maybe even turn off the TV every once in a while, you know, and spend time with your kids."]]
** In an earlier episode in
** Some argue whether turning Quagmire, a self professed rapist, into a prudish [[Self-Deprecation]] avatar to Brian and Peter's immorality counts as this trope as well.
** "The FCC Song" from the episode "PTV" is pretty much one big middle finger towards [[Moral Guardians]] and their stringent rules. Unfortunately, a spokesman from the FCC stated that [[Actually Pretty Funny| they saw the episode and ''they loved it''.]]
* ''[[Drawn Together]]'' tried to do this with an Entertainment Weekly review using the justification of the cast saying "Members with these characteristics aren't our target audience." Unfortunately they listed so many characteristics that it's impossible to find a member of society that doesn't fit into some of the demographics that were mentioned.
** Entertainment Weekly kept playing along, though, culminating in a review that went "I gave the show an F. They killed off my coworkers. If this continues, we'll have to get married."
* ''[[Ratatouille]]'' has a line that might be read this way. The final article of food critic Anton Ego says that "In many ways the life of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so." However, considering Pixar's good track record with critics, that might not be so.
** Even more likely is that it is a [[Take That]] against the contrarian critics who have beef with almost anything, more likely than not for the [[Conflict Ball|controversy]] which ensues.
*** Three years later with the release of [[Toy Story (franchise)|Toy Story 3]], film "critic" [https://web.archive.org/web/20101022134821/http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/06/18/armond-white-prevents-toy-story-3-from-becoming-the-best-reviewed-movie-of-all-time/ Armond White] makes this either [[Hilarious in Hindsight]] or a [[Funny Aneurysm Moment]] depending on your perspective.
**** And now it's even more hilarious, with the critics bashing [[Cars|Cars 2]]
* ''[[Futurama]]'' has Bender say, "have you ever tried turning off the TV, sitting down with your children, and hitting them?" as response to parents who blame television shows (like Futurama) for making their kids misbehave.
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* Subverted by ''[[Animaniacs]]'', which pit Slappy Squirrel against [[Siskel and Ebert]] knockoffs but didn't seem to be a shot at them personally - A) Slappy's shtick is being a washed-up cartoon star, of course she'd have to deal with critics; and B) the show made liberal use of [[No Celebrities Were Harmed]], they weren't ''not'' going to lampoon recognizable faces if they could help it.
** Then again, in her other cartoons Slappy repeatedly badmouthed [[Moral Guardians]] who wanted over-the-top, slapstick violence toned down. One cartoon specifically had her nephew Skippy deal with bullying, to which all the nonviolent solutions failed and he resorted to Aunt Slappy's favorite solution - liberal use of cartoon explosives. The same toon's B-plot saw Slappy forced to build some machine to tone down on-screen violence, which ended up working by [[Scenery Censor|moving the violence offscreen]].
== [[Real Life]] ==
* Gustav Klimt entitled one of his works [http://bobkessel.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/klimt-goldfish-to-my-critics.jpg?w=250&h=718 Goldfish - To My Critics]{{Dead link}}
* [[William Henry Harrison]] was accused of being old and feeble, so he stood in the freezing rain for two hours giving a speech. It backfired horribly and he spent his very short presidency bedridden before dying.
=== [[Sports]] ===
▲* Game Six of the 1995 World Series, which clinched the championship for the Atlanta Braves, might be seen as a Take That to the Braves' most overly critical fans. Tom Glavine was the winning pitcher with eight one-hit innings; many Atlanta fans booed him throughout the year for being the Braves' union representative during the previous year's strike. The game's lone run was scored on Dave Justice's home run; Justice had been booed throughout that very game after claiming the Braves fans hadn't been enthusiastic throughout the series.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Insult Tropes]]
[[Category:Criticism Tropes]]
▲[[Category:Take That, Critics!]]
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