I don't think this event has done anything to glorify or make Durial famous. Rather, it's simplified and reduced him to being a bogeyman, known only for what happened in Falador a decade ago. Instead of being an adored player at the top of the highscores, a well known PvM master, or a ridiculously rich merchant, he's simply someone who ruined the afterglow of construction and stole a partyhat along the way. Not exactly something you'd aspire to be.
This event is really to celebrate the impact it had on our collective psyche. Durial is secondary. In fact, he's not some lucid, murderous entity who's recommitting his infamous act, he's simply been turned into a pinata for the sake of this event.
I can understand why people feel that this attention is undeserved. When Woox did his solo nex kills within a week or two of release, Jagex made posts on the front page/social media to celebrate what most saw as bug abuse. Perhaps they feel that Durial is similarly being given undue attention in this event too, but it should be recognised that the primary focus of this event isn't even Durial himself.