Been so long I have been told that 'It's what gives you fame that defames you' In Yoruba translation (Nkan ti eniyan ba se niyi lo ma n se te).
However, I do not really dispute the adage but nevertheless I do not fully support it. My observation is that you can only get defamed when you stop doing what brings you fame.
This however could be linked with the demise of my pen when I lost it to a mystic conflagration which engulfed nothing but my pen. Initially, I did not perceive it as a 'big deal' but when the spirit of writing engulfed my mind due to the obnoxious and odious activities embarked upon by my people and as a writer who writes to right the un-right acts in the polity, the great minds were expecting me to flog the offenders not with cane but with my pen and consequently I couldn't help myself finding the pen but all to no avail.
The people of great minds changed their intention towards me, feverishly and ignorantly categorized me to a wrong category of people who are the enemy to the growth of the society. I was simply put in a wrong place because I did not correct the wrong acts in my community and as a result they thought I've joined the wrongs, but truthfully speaking, I was unable to right the wrongs due to the extemporaneous demise of my pen which is anonymous to the people.
This brought the thought that you don't get defamed by what brings you fame until you stop doing it and you deny consistency. I remain the humble writer.