Yeah, I am aware of some of those controversies, and they sure are unfortunate!

However, it's really, really hard to find a well-supported distro free of controversies. Still doesn't excuse Manjaro on that front.

I personally did not test Arch for such a long time, but what I had I certainly didn't like. Also, full barebones approach is not for me, and more of an enthusiast kind of thing. So, to each their own indeed!