The saga of Lawrence Sullivan, AKA the "Florida Joker", continues, as the self-appointed supervillain has again upped the ante in his effort to extract money from Rockstar Games for allegedly using his likeness in GTA 6. Dying his hair purple and donning an orange prison jumpsuit, Sullivan is adding to Rockstar's alleged bill, which he's now set at $3 million, issuing a three-day deadline for compliance before his lawyers "go crazy on this case".
At this point in the story, we won't reiterate that parodying people can qualify as Fair Use in America, at least according to this Harvard University's Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society parody guide we found. It's also true that "Lizzie Lohan" tried unsuccessfully to sue Rockstar for a character resembling the Mean Girls star.
The Gamer argues that Rockstar probably doesn't have to compensate Sullivan, but maybe it should, and we can kind of see it. In November, a video of a woman's Stanley Cup surviving a blazing inferno went viral (ice cubes intact), and the company was quick to capitalise on the situation in the PR coup of the year. Then again, if there's one game in the world that doesn't need marketing, it's this one.
Roger Clarke, Red Dead Redemption 2's Arthur Morgan, says, Rockstar is "lawyered up" and knows "exactly what they can and cannot get away with". He advises Sullivan to "use the notoriety they just threw your way to your advantage" before savagely suggesting he wouldn't be "getting a job at Home Depot with that face."
What do you think of Florida Joker's latest demands? Do you think we are destined to do this forever? Share our padded cell in the comments section below.
[source tiktok.com, via thegamer.com]
Comments 39
This feels like a parody of a parody of a parody, what is Florida?
It's not about money, it's about sending a message.
This dude has no idea what he's starting.
Why give this criminal a platform. Id expect our left USA websites to post these. I guess the lefts exist in UK also
@Platinum-Bucket says the Canadian hahahaa
@nomither6 oi, don't harass me and my moose; he's sensitive, eh?
@Yaycandy "Id expect our left USA websites to post these. I guess the lefts exist in UK also"
With all the respect in the world you sound like a bigger clown than that face tattoo dufus 🙂 why are you bringing up the left or the right wing into a neutral gaming website? Were you commenting on some anti-woke website and accidentally ended up here?
@Tecinthebrain Lol, seems very neutral. Promoting criminals.
@rjejr Bottom Text
He looks like he'd invest that money wisely.
Rockstar is really appreciating the free PR, because their legal team will curbstomp this idiot lmao
I just want DC to sue him at this point. Anyway we should stop giving this lowlife engagement so I am done reacting to his stupidity. Get a job, creep.
@Tecinthebrain I agree but this website is anything but neutral though.
I can't wait for the game to come out to see all the inventive ways people come up with to kill his ingame character
Just Google criminals with face tattoos and you'll see at least 50 guys that look like this clown. Maybe those criminals should sue him for stealing their likeness. Sorry bro, you're not original, your face tats aren't anything like the guy in GTA VI. You dyed your hair to try to copy the guy in the game so you're trying to steal his likeness.
This scrounger again. The sad thing is that he is getting a lot of exposure from this and its only a matter of time before people will want to hear his side and throw him a big old monetary incentive to pour his heart out about how a greedy corporation stole his identity..no his soul thus making his obviously already fragile mental health spiral into a downward dive of substance abuse blah,blah,blah..damn rockstar games to hell for exploiting this lunatic.
@Amusei @Tecinthebrain @Yaycandy Plot twist: I'm from Australia. Some of our most beloved national heroes were convicted criminals; my ancestors certainly were
This guy is getting so much free advertising somebody has had to offer him money for something at this point
Yeah the Home Depot comment was not necessary.
Wooh, slow down now. It would be hilarious if R* went and sued him because he is making himself look like the character in the reveal now with him dying his hair the same colour!! 3 million wasn’t it?? 🤡
This f-ing guy again. Luckily for him, he probably didn’t have to spend money on that outfit, as it was readily available in his wardrobe. Unluckily for him…that face makes him unemployable, despite his seemingly affable demeanor. WELP!!! BACK TO A LIFE OF CRIME!!!
Dumb. Rockstar will now sue him for copying the character lol
So, he's upset in that he believes Rockstar have copied his likeness, so what does he do? He makes his appearance even more like the character that Rockstar created. What a moron! If he does indeed have lawyers, I bet they would not have advised him to do that. And again, if he does have a lawyer, who is paying for it? I highly doubt that he has the funds, and I would struggle to believe that any lawyer really fancies their chances when up against the lawyers that Rockstar does have.
In all honesty, I hope this guy doesn't make a dime from this. He clearly does not deserve a penny...
Whilst he's clearly getting his advice from Lindsay Lohan rep Lionel Hutz,I find it amusing even IF he somehow beat Take-two's army of speed dial lawyers,does he honestly think DC Comics would let him keep any money ripping off their IP?!😂
Yea tattoo removal must cost lots , is it just me I don't see the similarities this dudes saying just because we saw people on TV movies with the same tattoo they have that was treated as fun , GTA has always had people trying to get a free lunch at their expense.
Who's getting the free publicity off who Florida Joker? Keep being a clown.
Jesus this guy is a joke now. I thought he was just going to be another typical individual trying to sue Rockstar for having a character that looks like him but this is just really silly 😂
He is not wrong though.
What a pillock.
If this dude thinks he owns the joker then WB should sue him
I hope rockstar just ignores the guy, I'm sure they didn't get the likeness from him.
If I had a game character look like me, I'd be happy. I wouldn't sue. I'd probably just show off haha.
is Florida even a real place?
@PinderSchloss the home depot comment was warranted. Anybody deranged enough to do that to their faces has made themselves unemployable and just don't deserve sympathy. I have both arms heavily tattooed but none of them are visible above the kneck line or below the wrists so I can conceal them if a potential employer requires me to. Stop defending this miscreant.
@Northern_munkey So society decided that facial tattoo’s are a big no no. I appreciate him for not conforming to that, simply because it’s wrong for other people to decide what you can do to your body.
Facial tattoos are/were common and normal in many cultures, by the way.
@PinderSchloss yes tribal tattoos I agree but not what this idiot has done to himself. They are not even good tattoos. He obviously really needs the attention and some serious psychiatric help. If he is willing to offer himself up for serious ridicule then I'm all in to grant his wish.
How are tribal tattoos different from what he feels a connection with?
It’s not my style either. It sure grabs the attention. But it doesn’t bother me to see someone go further in self-expression than I would.
People like this are important, because they challenge us to question the things we take for granted and the absurdity of some societal norms. That can be a valuable lesson to some ‘normal’ people.
All these different identities have a function in making sure we grow as a species. Like teaching you not to judge people whose skin you’ve never been in.
Good for you on recognising that he might need help. Perhaps you can try to start from that thought instead of what the facade tells you about his worth.
***edit: I realise that sounded a bit preachy but I genuinely wish you can try to see people differently. Not because I think I'm better than you but because it's a destructive aspect of society that people are now so quick to draw conclusions about strangers, while they only get snippets of their +-90 year life
@PinderSchloss I understand where you are coming from and I recognise that you see some kind of worth in this guy. I myself don't and there are many,many more like him. Would you hire him if he walked into your establishment? I don't think you would even though you'd say otherwise. I admire your faith in humanity but I am way too cynical and too old to change my views. Don't like what I say? Hit the ignore button.
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