“Y’all took my likeness. Y’all took my life”
The Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer parodies several viral clips that have circulated on social media, as is series tradition, but one man believes that his likeness inspired an in-game character and is suing Rockstar Games for $1-2 million.
‘Florida Joker,’ aka Lawrence Sullivan, recently took to social media to draw comparisons between himself and a character in the trailer. Sullivan first gained notoriety after mug shots of him with dyed hair and face tattoos went viral, earning him the moniker “Florida Joker.” Instead, the GTA 6 trailer shows a mug shot of a purple-haired character with similar tattoos around his eyes and cheeks.
“That’s me. That’s the person they got the inspiration from. That’s me. That’s me,” Sullivan says it again in a recent video, pointing to images of himself and the in-game character. “GTA, we gotta talk. Or no, you gotta give me like a mill or two,” he continues, “Y’all took my likeness. Y’all took my life.”
Obviously, this isn’t Rockstar Games’ first time in the hot seat. When GTA V first came out, actor Lindsey Lohan tried to sue the company, claiming that they used her likeness for a minor character in the game. In 2018, a New York court dismissed her claims, stating that the character was just a “generic young woman.” Sullivan has not yet taken legal action.