"Public notoriety" refers to when someone or something becomes well-known or famous in a negative or controversial way among the general public. Full definition
That's it for a quote the post special story so far down in public notoriety. (wben.com)
But Saraki himself, seeming unfazed poster boy of public notoriety, is only a fitting metaphor for the rotten chamber he heads. (nigeriapoliticsonline.com)
Richard Dawkins (1941 ---RRB-: The biologist, a charismatic speaker, first gained public notoriety in 1976 with his book The Selfish Gene, one of his many works on evolution. (discovermagazine.com)