People Are Calling Out The "Toxic" TV And Movie Characters Who Should Stop Being Glorified

3 hours ago 7

"Penn Badgley is hot and a great actor, but JOE GOLDBERG in 'You' is a psycho who should not be romanticized!"

Should these popular TV and movie characters stop being idolized? Let's find out...

🚨 Minor spoilers ahead! 🚨

1. Snape from Harry Potter: "I love him as a character — he's a complex and deep character. Having said that, I do not like him as a person. He’s greatly disturbed. I wouldn’t call him fully evil per se. I would not call him good either. He’s more of a really screwed-up individual who was able to activate his moral compass before death. He’s definitely a tragic character, but that’s also his own fault."

Alan Rickman as Snape in "Harry Potter"

Warner Bros. Pictures

2. Joe Goldberg from You: "Penn Badgley is hot and a great actor, but JOE GOLDBERG is a f**king psycho who should not be romanticized!"

Joe carries his baby son at a library in "You" Season 2

Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection

3. Edward and Jacob from Twilight: "They're both creepy and possessive."

Two characters facing each other intensely in a movie scene, conveying tension. One character has short dark hair, the other has tousled hair

Summit Entertainment

4. Effy from Skins: "The show literally romanticized her mental health struggles."

A disheveled Effy looks exhausted during an episode of "Skins"

All3Media

5. Harley Quinn from Suicide Squad: "So many people idolize her as a role model and romanticize her personality disorder, which is not okay."

Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn in "Suicide Squad"

Warner Bros. Pictures

6. Christian Grey from Fifty Shades of Grey: "It's just 'cause he's rich and handsome. It's romantic only because of that. Imagine the same story, but instead, a broke, 'ugly' guy tries to get a woman to get into BDSM and does a bunch of stalking. Guaranteed it would be advertised as a horror movie."

Christian and Ana look deep into each other's eyes in "Fifty Shades of Grey"

Focus Features / Courtesy Everett Collection

7. Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, from the MCU: "Even the creator of The Punisher, Gerry Conway, has come out to specifically say that he is just a serial killer. He kills 'bad' people, yes, but he’s still a serial killer. And cops should definitely not be using him as a role model."

A character in tactical gear stands in a gritty setting, wearing a shirt with a skull emblem, conveying a tough and intense presence

Jessica Miglio / Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection

8. Berlin from Money Heist: "In the show, he raped a poor girl by taking advantage of her fear. Even though he died after the second season, they keep milking the character and have a spin-off based on him."

Berlin stands among armed gunmen in "Money Heist"

Netflix / Antena 3 / Courtesy: Everett Collection

9. Patrick Bateman from American Pyscho: "I read the book as a teen, so I had no illusions about how messed up he was. The whole character is just a morbid personification of American society. It's all just edgy social commentary. I do recommend the book if you can stomach it, because it's still good commentary."

Person in a formal suit and tie, looking serious, standing in an office setting with wood paneling

Lions Gate

10. The Joker from Batman: "He's a mentally unstable man from a background of severe mental abuse and trauma who eventually has a breakdown so severe, it leads him to commit crime, murder, and fight a billionaire dressed as a bat. It’s okay to like him as a villain, but he isn’t meant to be idolized or used for your edgy inspirational quotes on Facebook."

Heath Ledger as The Joker in "The Dark Knight"

Warner Bros / Courtesy Everett Collection

—u/Areyouunsatisfied

"It's particularly cringey when people glorify the Joker and Harley Quinn's relationship like it's some kind of love story."

—u/Sarav41

11. Jason Dean, aka J.D., from Heathers: "I have watched Heathers exactly once, and my response was, 'Yeah I get the hype, but J.D. is too terrifyingly realistic of a villain for me to ever willingly watch this again.' He is the exact kind of monster that a teenager can imagine being real."

JD hugs Veronica during a scene in "Heathers"

New World Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

12. Tate Langdon from American Horror Story: "He was a good villain, and he was pretty attractive I'll admit. You can have hot villains, but people who break their backs trying to defend his actions are straight-up delusional. People were excusing his crimes even before Apocalypse came up with that BS cop-out."

Tate from "American Horror Story" wears a shirt that says, "Normal people scare me"

FX

—u/psstwantsomeham

"Christ, he was such an awful character. He would do things that made no sense and make choices to mess with people that were also bad for him personally. Like, trying to get a rise out of his psychiatrist and then flipping out when the psychiatrist tried to kick him out as a client."

—u/wherethelionsweep

13. Noah from The Notebook: "Noah threatened to kill himself if she didn't go on a date with him. Nope, nope, nope."

Ryan Gosling as Noah from "The Notebook"

New Line Cinema / Courtesy Everett Collection

—u/AlwaysShip

"Why do people find this movie romantic? It’s romantic how he reads Allie her memories during their old age, but when they were younger? They were toxic AF."

—u/LongWaysForResults

14. Danny Zuko from Grease: "Total a-hole. Sandy should’ve left him."

Danny hugs Sandy in "Grease"

Paramount Pictures

15. Walter White from Breaking Bad: "He's legitimately just an awful person from the very first episode. He could have taken the job and not put him and his family at risk. He had several opportunities to stop. He even admitted it was just for him. He's an amazing character, but he's a villain who happens to be a protagonist."

Bryan Cranston as "Breaking Bad's" Walter White

AMC / Courtesy Everett Collection

16. Romeo and Juliet from Romeo + Juliet: "They are shown to be two stupid, impulsive, and overly dramatic kids who make terrible decisions resulting in their own deaths — and that of a bunch of their friends and relatives."

Leonardo Di Caprio and Claire Danes as "Romeo and Juliet"

20th Century Fox / Courtesy Everett Collection

17. The Peaky Blinders from Peaky Blinders: "I recently watched the show, and I just don’t understand why every guy wants to be like them. They are all horrible people who destroy everything they touch."

The Peaky Blinders gang ominously walk the street

BBC Studios

18. Ramona Flowers and Scott Pilgrim from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: "They are both equally horrible people made for each other."

Scott and Romana stand face to face

Universal / Courtesy Everett Collection

—u/8BitSmart

"This is the main reason that I prefer the comics over the movie; by the end of the series, both Ramona and Scott recognize that they're pretty sh*tty people but have made some kind of commitment to trying to get better together — whereas the movie doesn't really go that far."

—u/Mr_Pleasant2310

19. Daniel Hillard, aka Mrs. Doubtfire, from Mrs. Doubtfire: "I think nobody talks about how terrible Mrs. Doubtfire really is. This man inserted himself into the life of a woman who wants nothing to do with him, spies on her, and attempts to kill her new boyfriend. I mean, come on."

Robin Williams dressed as an older woman in a wig, glasses, and cardigan to be Mrs Doubtfire

20th Century Fox / Courtesy Everett Collection

20. Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter: "That kid is not a good person. He is well-written enough that you can sympathize with him in the later books, but he should definitely not be looked up to as a role model."

 Part 1"

Warner Bros / Courtesy Everett Collection

21. Don Draper from Mad Men: "I think most people view the show in the lens of glitz and glamour of an idealized upper-class lifestyle with some comedic and salacious side story. They miss the point that his most important character development comes later in revisiting his past, feeling lost in what most folk would value as an ideal life."

Jon Hamm as Don Draper in "Mad Men"

AMC / Courtesy Everett Collection

"Sad little kid hurt and haunted — and hurting many in the process of trying to run from that."

—u/Dangercakes13

22. Lily from How I Met Your Mother: "Lily is legit a terrible friend and partner, not to mention a manipulative, judgmental thief. It's weird that the show sets us up to see her as a good person compared to Barney."

A woman in a low-cut dress smiles while holding a drink, facing a man in a suits. They appear to be at a social event

CBS

23. And finally: Barney from How I Met Your Mother: "Promoting toxic masculinity and relationships. I know more than one young man who thought that was how to treat women. I‘m puking."

Barney from "How I Met Your Mother" holds up a hand, which has "Um, I guess" handwritten on his palm

CBS

Who are some other popular characters who should stop being glorified? Let us know in the comments below!

Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.

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