I'm going to keep this fast and dirty.
1) Look up the Urban Hellraisers episode of CSI: Miami.That was what the public thought of gamers about 10 years ago. This whole thing, especially how it has been framed in the media, has played out like a very negative stereotype from those days. People like Jace and Homer on the video game side, they're the members GG wouldn't want you to know about and are quick to throw under the bus.
Hell, I this that's why this kid went after Jace. He's the wet dream for any sensationalist journalist.
2) For me, art is something that invokes discussion and further examination. I'd even consider Twilight art for that reason. But, like Twilight fans, GG didn't want to hear about the bad things in their video games.
Early on, I saw a little comic being passed around telling Anita and Quinn to stop discussing the implications of video games and just play them instead. Gaters went apeshit when a reviewer gave Bayonetta 2, what, a 7.5 because he didn't like the fanservice. The whole "get your social justice leanings out of my reviews," the outcry over same sex relations in Dragon Age: Inquisition, etc.
You get the idea. To me, that's not treating games as art. I don't watch Anita, and I know her vids say some things that are not true (Hitman). But to me, she's at least trying to provoke discussion and treating the medium as an art form. I'll give her that. Same as people who make art games. I've been playing shitty art games on newgrounds for years and some appreciation/tolerance for them. I'll even champion Hatred as art because it does make people talk.
Even if someone is a dumbass, they have the right to voice their opinion. Granted, they should extend the same respect to us in reviewing their work.