Kind of the same way the casual slit shaming and rape culture of it all flew back then, no one cared, but worse, it was so ingrained in people's minds back then that undoing it was the real struggle.
Okay, so Dr. NG's watching Vampire Diaries again, and I've not always paid a lot of attention before; but, out of curiosity, how, exactly, did the whole ALL BLACK PEOPLE ARE MAGIC shit ever fly? HOW???
Age gaps aren't inherently bad, but they have an inherent power imbalance. I remember a comment on a youtube video that stuck with me. He was an older man dating a younger girl and he talked about how he had to actively fight his instincts to guide her in place and let her figure things out because she's not there yet. That's how I feel about Jeff, he actively had to curb himself because the things he wants with her gets in the way of her growth. I truly believe he loves her which is why the series finale was a perfect ending for them.
Being creeped out by the age gaps is reasonable, but ignoring the nuances of things like that is where I feel like the meat of the issue is lost because age is just a number, but life stages are where these differences matter and what's causing the problem.
I understand the Jeff x Annie ship criticism. I do. She was only 18 when the show first started, and he first saw her as attractive (in the Debate episode), which yes, was kinda icky.
But then she grew up. And it got more appropriate because she came to be in her twenties, and she was more mature and older (things which I have previously stated before).
But I think the whole point of Jeff x Annie in the series was that, while they may have been meant to be, and been True Love...they were not meant to be yet. She still had a life to live and experiences to have, which in the end of the series, he decided he didn't want to hold her back from.
Which is why the movie is such an exciting thing. Annie's in her thirties now. She's gone into her dream career, she's had many experiences - and the universe may finally be ready to have her and Jeff together.