I agree, but you act as though Richie didn't have his own followers that took his side on the JBJ/RS split. The ones that were are pretty much the ones that will still follow him now regardless of how he left the band. And then there's the ones that have lost heart on BJ the band as it is (there is certainly some overlap between those two catagories).

The ones that still hate Richie for the way he left are 99% Jon die hards that really wern't that bothered about Richie's solo stuff anyways. And yes I know that is the majority of the fan base, but I really can't see it effecting his solo audience that much. It was small as it was, but very dedicated.