Nah, Wilder showboated and won every round until the stoppage. But Duhautpas did better than most of us predicted in going past round ten.
If by "winning the event" you mean he had American fans at ringside and people at home tweeting that they should stop the fight because they didn't want to see Duhaupas beaten to death on national television ... then yes, he "won" them over. Nobody wanted to see him actually die in the ring. Otherwise, he didn't win much.
That french guy was tough. He was game and never been stopped before. Fighters like that who are big underdogs with nothing to lose sometimes surprise the boxing public with a good fight.
His celebration was hilarious and over the top. But then it wasn't exactly a walk in the park for Wilder. He was made to work, marked up and even complained to the ref on a few occasions to get time to recover after getting hit cleanly. Duhaupas gave him a tougher fight than he is used to and compared to what Wilder has had to face before that probably felt like his Thrilla in Manilla.