Pinellas County Sheriff's Office/Rockstar Games
The first trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI made it very clear it plans to fully lean into the myth of the “Florida Man,” but one man who seemingly inspired a character in the new GTA game doesn’t seem too thrilled about that development.
Earlier this week, a leak forced the folks at Rockstar Games to drop the highly-anticipated trailer for GTA VI a bit earlier than initially scheduled, but the premature release certainly didn’t hamper the excitement surrounding the world’s first look at the video game that will be released at some point in 2025.
The trailer seemingly confirmed rumors that GTA VI will revolve around a Bonny and Clydeesque duo of robbers who will serve as its playable characters, but it also included a very colorful cast of characters seemingly inspired by stories involving the internet legend known as the Florida Man.
That appeared to include Lawrence Sullivan, who went viral in 2018 courtesy of a mugshot that made the rounds after he was arrested for an alleged probation violation and was dubbed the “Miami Joker” thanks to reasons that are pretty obvious when you take his face tattoos and green hair into account.
Well, it appears Sullivan caught wind of the character in the trailer who he appears to have a fair amount in common with, as he hopped on TikTok to film a video where he stated “GTA, we oughta talk” while making it pretty clear he’s convinced he was the basis for the design.
The Grand Theft Auto series obviously has a long and storied history of drawing inspiration from the real world, but Rockstar also has a well-compensated team of lawyers who make sure every installment is armed with the tried-and-trued disclaimer that reads “This game is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events, is purely coincidental.”
As a result, it’s hard to imagine much will come of this.