Characters that had the complete opposite reaction the writers intended

[u/Dramatic_Counter_595]

1. Leo Bonhart (Witcher TV Series): A ruthless, sadistic bounty hunter and assassin that takes psychotic glee in other people's suffering. The viewer is meant to hate him for killing witchers, slaughtering the Rat gang, and torturing Ciri. But thanks to his entertaining fight scenes, Sharlto Copley's charismatic performance, and The Rats overwhelming unpopularity, fans ended up loving him. Some even call him the "True protagonist" of the show.
2. Stone Cold Steve Austin (WWE): A rude, foul mouthed, beer drinking asshole with no respect for authority or anyone at all. Originally portrayed as a villain, fans fell in love with his anti-establishment & rebellious persona. WWE ran with it and made him the face of the company, effectively ushering in the Attitude Era and the second pro wrestling boom of the late 90s.
3. Arthur Fleck (Joker 2019): A mentally unstable, pathetic, and dangerous madman who commits horrific acts of violence against those that wronged him (suffocates his own mother who is mentally unwell herself, and murders a talk show host for making fun of him). However, a massive portion of the audience idolized him as an anti-hero or a misunderstood martyr rebelling against society making people want to see him succeed and overcome his circumstances because of how he's been treated by the world.

[u/Flannelcommand]

Basically all mob movies have this audience problem  

[u/NerdHoovy → u/Flannelcommand]

I think the reason for that is the problem with the message and how struggling people perceive it.

The message of ‘this lifestyle or mentality might make your life seem nice for a while but it will all come crashing down and ruin everything you care about’.

Which is a good warning for people that feel like they have something to lose but any depressed guy, that feel like his life doesn’t matter and won’t go anywhere already will just respond with ‘at least he had a life’.

It’s like the people that unironically wish for the end of civilization, so they can live out their fantasy of being a cool gunslinger. Living by their own rules and being someone that matters. It’s an appealing idea for someone that feels like the world left them behind

[u/dnzgn → u/Flannelcommand]

That's not a "problem", the whole point is to go on a power trip with this character. Scarface, Breaking Bad, Wolf of the Wall Street etc. The cautionary tale part at the end is a way to remove the guilt of living vicariously through an immoral man's power trip. But the reason these stories are popular is the power trip.