Florida Joker is demanding talks with Rockstar Games over using his likeness for Loenida Joker in the Grand Theft Autp 6 announcement trailer, but instead, is met with a dose of logic and some roasting from Roger Clark, the voice of Arthur Morgan from the Red Dead Redemption 2.
Florida Joker is back in the news yet again, and we aren’t speaking (at least entirely) about the parody version we saw in Rockstar’s GTA 6 trailer. Lawrence Sullivan, a Florida Man who went viral in 2017 for his mugshots that the internet quickly dubbed as “Florida Joker” due to his pale face and tattoo-covered face, is in the news again after watching the GTA 6 trailer himself. Rather than understanding that the character Rockstar has is simply a parody, or as some lawyers have chimed in, “another man,” Sullivan instead sets out demands for Rockstar Games to speak to him or give him one or two million dollars, as they’ve taken his life.
The Florida Guy demanding $2 million from Rockstar Games over GTA 6 now 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/Rf7LVBBbDY
— SKizzle⭐️ (@SKizzleAXE) December 9, 2023
While Rockstar Games has yet to chime in, at least publicly, the voice actor behind Red Dead Redemption 2’s Arthur Morgan, Roger Clark, took it upon himself to address Lawrence, citing that Rockstar has had people try (and fail) to sue them for decades for the very reason.
Arthur Morgan actor Roger Clark responds to the Florida joker who is asking for millions from Rockstar Games for allegedly parodying him in #GTA6 pic.twitter.com/Hh2pTzV5nj
— Culture Crave 🍿 (@CultureCrave) December 9, 2023
“No, you don’t. You don’t need to talk to them. They’re not going to talk to you. 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. If I were you, I would use the notoriety they just threw your way to my advantage. Capitalize on it somehow. You aren’t getting a job at Home Depot with that face.”
As Clark mentions, this wouldn’t be the first time Rockstar has been threatened over the use of likenesses, as back in 2014, actor Lindsey Lohan sued the studio and publisher over GTA 5. Its main cover character featured a female character who Lindsey claimed was based on her. The case was thrown out, with her eventually requesting an appeal, which was denied.
Other examples of characters based on real-life people can be seen throughout the South Park series, which has parodied countless celebrities. The show creators have been threatened and sued, yet are usually protected due to their parodies fitting fair use laws.
Rockstar Games know what they can do and likely expected this situation to arise. I won’t pretend to know the law inside and out, but I can say that Mr. Lawrence will be in a long battle if he decides to take legal action against the studio. I don’t see this going down the way he expects since there have already been past cases that have failed for the very reason against Rockstar and other companies.
What do you think, though? Does Florida Joker have something here, or should he take Roger Clark’s advice and look for another way to profit from it?
More GTA 6 Reading:
Just remember you can sue anyone for anything nowadays, that’s my dude Arthur Morgan i love RDR.
Doesn’t Rockstar have a disclaimer that says “any likelihood to real life events or people are purely coincidental” like most developers have.
Have you ever seen that message on a trailer? I’ve only ever seen it at the end of a movie show or book.
I’ve seen disclaimers like that in words at the beginning of some games. Like when they say people who are sensitive to flashing lights may not want to play certain games.
Guys an idiot. He’s worldwide now due to a game trailer. You’d think he’s be wanting a bit more famous and use it to his advantage
He’ll be the one paying not to Rockstar but to his lawyer sense lawyers aren’t cheap and don’t do anything for free. Rockstar is in the right, only way this guy has any way of winning is if they aka Rockstar use his REAL name for the character not what the internet labeled him as. SO overall he’ll be wasting his time, his lawyers time, and Rockstar’s time for this crap. All this is is an desperate attempt to get money cause he most likely can’t get a job anywhere that isn’t construction/roofing. Like they say “if you tattoo your face better prepare for the consequences of getting it done.” If you;re gonna get a face tattoo better be a Self-employed worker that runs your own business. Anyways he won’t get nothing out of this sense the laws side with Rockstar on this one AGAIN
Rob Wiethoff > roger clark
Soon as dude sees $100 he’s gonna go somewhere and OD