The GTA 6 trailer parodied several “Florida man” headlines as the game is set in Vice City. One man who appears to have inspired one of the NPCs seen in the trailer now wants to talk with Rockstar Games. Presumably because he isn’t too happy they took inspiration from his look.
What happened?
Towards the end of the Grand Theft Auto VI trailer, there’s a news report shot of an NPC with purple hair covered in face tattoos. He’s also standing in front of a Sheriff’s Office badge.
This character looked similar to a 29-year-old man nicknamed the “Florida Joker”. He was arrested in the Sunshine State for waving a gun about in public. As you can see, the resemblance between the man and a scene in GTA 6’s trailer is uncanny. From the Sherriff’s office badge in the background, to the tattoos, dyed hair and orange jail outfit.
If you’re wondering what the translation of the news banner says it reads: “Confession written in ink (for tattoos). A tattoo on his neck that betrayed him, helped in the conviction of a man from Leonida.
The Florida Joker has spoken
Lawrence Sullivan, the real name of The Florida Joker took to TikTok to share his thoughts on this resemblance in the GTA 6 trailer.
Mr Sullivan says in the video “You might have seen that character in the GTA 6 (trailer), just dropped the trailer today, you know they got that character with the face tattoos, you know who they got that inspired by. By me. Just look me up Florida Joker Miami Joker, you know what I’m talking about. GTA, we gotta talk.”
The last few words in the video from Lawrence Sullivan has had fans suggesting he thinks he is owed something for the inspiration.
UPDATE on December 9th:
Mr Sullivan has posted another TikTok calling out anyone who does not think Rockstar used him as inspiration. He reiterates “GTA, we gotta talk. Or not you gotta give me like a mil or two. Holla at me Rockstar Entertainment, Rockstar Games, Rockstar Enterprise. Florida Joker ain’t having that. You all took my likeness.”
Rockstar have dealt with this before
If Mr Sullivan thinks he has a case, it will be a quick one that does not end in his favour. There is precedent set by GTA V for a similar matter was . Back in 2016, actor Lindsay Lohan lost her lawsuit against Rockstar Games. She argued they were inspired her for the iconic beachgoer taking a selfie in GTA V’s cover art and loading screen. Another argument was she inspired the character found in the game called Lacey Jonas. She also lost her appeal in 2018.
The Florida Joker has since posted multiple TikToks about people seeing the similarities between himself and the character in the GTA VI trailer. He’s also shared his awareness to stories covering his TikTok where he wants to talk to “GTA”. You can watch Lawrence’s TikTok requesting a talk here.
This person was not the only one to have done something that Rockstar appears to have took inspiration from. There were several notable events which we covered here.
Red Dead Actor responds
Roger Clark who played Arthur Morgan in Red Dead Redemption 2 has responded to The Florida Joker in a new TikTok video. When The Joker said “GTA, we gotta talk” the beloved actor replied with “No you don’t. You don’t need to talk to them. They’re not going to talk to you.”
He goes onto say “They’ve had people like you trying to sue them for decades. They are lawyered up man. They know exactly what they can and can’t get away with.”
Mr Clark does end the TikTok with some wise words for Mr Sullivan suggesting “If I was you, I’d use the notoriety they just threw your way to my advantage. Capitalise on it somehow! You ain’t getting a job at Home Depot with that face!”
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