I think there's a knee-jerk reaction to short-sellers or actions like this because they cause loss of value for a mass of people. I, frankly, don't understand it. Those ultimately responsible are the entities that pumped up a bubble in the first place. Shooting the messenger who is effectively saying "this valuation is unreasonable" is counterproductive. It's like blaming the guy who brings a scam to your attention instead of the scammer.
And to be clear, I'm not saying that short-selling is inherently virtuous. It's a speculative activity like any other in our financial system. But it doesn't make sense that speculation (or even market manipulation) which increases an asset's value is often seen as ok, while the opposite is not.
Edit: Here's a good example - the current Canadian Real Estate Bubble[1]. I wish someone would pop this thing. It's already so big that it's going to hurt a lot of people. The government seems unwilling to do much to restrain it, especially since the pandemic, and as it gets bigger the potential fallout only increases. But I'm willing to bet that if some singular investor/regulator triggers an unwinding they will be blamed for all the consequences. Not the 20 years of policies and decisions that led to the bubble getting this large in the first place.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_property_bubble