səkˌsādəˌskäⁿˈdäl noun
Etymology: French, literally, success of scandal
: the reception accorded a work of art that wins popularity or notoriety because of the scandalous nature of its contents or of its relation to a scandal
so antireligious and sacrilegious that they … achieved a tumultuous succès de scandale — H.E.Clurman
a succès de scandale won by its anecdotes about the members of the … aristocracy — Anthony West