Stapp was a victim of his own success. When you're at the top people want to see you fall. Sometimes, even the people who helped to make you like to break you. Creed didn't need anyone to help them make it - not MTV, not an established record label...no-one.
Creed went from nothing to become the biggest band in America in record breaking time. That's a big no-no.
Bands start smiling at you through their teeth - probably while wearing a green t-shirt with ENVY printed on it. Look at the guys who publicly ridiculed Creed. Fred Durst and Dave Grohl (Stapp has a superior voice than both of them). Didn't a guy from Blink 182 (what nonsense) even wear a t-shirt that read 'Even Jesus Hates Creed'? This animosity then filters down to their naive fans and the 'snowball effect' begins - one band says something, then another and so on...
Stapp was the face of Creed and so he felt the full force of their hate. People would criticise his voice, his lyrics, his on-stage postures...everything. Stapp became paranoid and defended himself accordingly.
I'm not saying Stapp is innocent - far from it. But I'm struggling to think of something he did (during his Creed days) that gave others due reason to treat him with such contempt. Others have done things far worse and been given numerous chances to redeem themselves.
Critics of Stapp could say his actions are a contradiction to his lyrics but Stapp rarely commented on his lyrics and the meaning of his songs.
Whatever Stapp has done in the recent past, the critical disdain directed towards him was born out of one thing - jealousy.