Oshriv, I spoke nothing about his ahavas Yisroel, but his sins were well known, and although he was a smart person, calling him a “gaon” is ludicrous.
Unless you meant a gaon in ahavas Yisroel, in which case I don’t think the terminology is apt, but again, I won’t argue that he wasn’t an ohev Yisroel.
I think it’s wrong to look at him as a role model (although one can learn from anyone’s ma’alos, including him).
Mostly, I was rejecting the simply non factual claim that he wasn’t exposed to secular music.