10 TV Characters That Didn't Deserve The Hate
1. Toby Flenderson - The Office (U.S.)
In the case of Toby Flenderson (Paul Lieberstein) from the U.S. version of The Office, the fanbase was effectively manipulated into hating the straight-laced HR rep because Michael Scott (Steve Carell) did.
But really, Toby's only crime is that he's "boring" - that is to say, in an office full of cartoon characters, he's probably the most "real" and tragically relatable person.
Toby's just trying to get through the day without administrative headaches that will make his job harder, and Michael's obnoxious hijinks present an obvious obstacle to this.
Sure, Toby wasn't perfect - touching Pam's (Jenna Fischer) knee wasn't a good look - but he didn't deserve to be the office punching bag. Considering his fraught family life - defined by a divorce and shared custody of his young daughter - fans should've been considerably more sympathetic to him.
Hating Toby was such a wide-spanning meme throughout the show's history that fans in turn abandoned their own humanity and forgot that he's just a poor guy trying to find happiness while facing off against consistent workplace abuse.
Assuming he actually isn't the real Scranton Strangler, of course.