Yeah, that's how most people were. They barely connected the dots that the CGI had a costumed actor in the scene being replaced.

And unlike Lloyd, who was undermining a beloved character people had built up for decades, or Christensen, whose own direct performance is what people hated, he was just a dude doing the stupid shit Lucas wrote. There was no saving that particular writing.

Even if one were to accept the angle of harassment against him, the literal canon has been shitting on Jar Jar ever since to massive applause. And not even that long ago it was still going on. That's why they never bring up his story when they cry racism, because its sanctioned hatred.