I don't think you can expect this type of reaction from a performance. One of the larger issues is that people don't get that it was a performance. Roughly equivalent to taking a picture of a clown and making fun of him for his make up as if he walks around like that in every situation.
If you do some kind of guerilla performance art, going around in public doing weird stuff, then most people will probably not realize it's a performance.
You are correct, but that's not the issue. The issue is not that people are not able to jump to the right conclusion, it is that they jump to the wrong conclusion.
