@kaia i think it's moreso, the context it's applied and wording that properly converys it.

"he's a weirdo, he had like a whole basement of baby oil" > implies that he didn't do anything specifically wrong or immoral, but instead had very uncommon preferences, and indulged in it frequently

"he's a freak, he had like a whole basement of baby oil" > implies he did do something wrong, and used the baby oil to satisfy his very messed up sexual desires, to extreme lengths

i think it's the wording that's important here, you wouldn't call the wonder bread guy a freak for example, but you would call him a weirdo.