He might have been a jerk, not all jerks get the same treatment of being covered in Front Page for every single issue. And that's what makes me believe it's inflated https://hackernoon.com/travis-kalanick-lost-today-hoping-to-...
See above about sticking in the boot when in trouble. Some of that might be opportunistically sticking in the boot, but there's a lot less boot sticking if the person involved is not a jerk.
See also:
http://www.paulgraham.com/mean.html
And
The problem with being a jerk is that people will dislike you.
They might put up with you if you are rich, successful and powerful, but they certainly won't look to help you if you are in trouble and may even come along to help put the boot in.
> Makes no goddamn sense.
What's happening makes perfect sense. People don't like jerks, and enjoy bringing them down.