Florida ‘Joker’ Demands $2 Million From Rockstar Games for GTA 6 Likeness

Lawrence Sullivan sets out to speak to Rockstar Games about the use of his likeness or demands that they give him $2 million.

Lawrence Sullivan is claiming that Grand Theft Auto 6 took his life for the game. Sullivan’s mugshot for pointing a gun at passing vehicles made him famous due to his facial features, which gave him the name “Florida Joker”.

The Florida Joker responded to the new Grand Theft Auto game by saying that the creators got their inspiration from him. He claims they took his likeness and life by showing a YouTube video titled “all GTA 6 Real Life Florida Man references”.

The likeness of the character Loenida Joker was similar to the Florida Joker, but there are a lot of people in the world who have tattooed faces. Loenida Joker is in an orange jumpsuit with purple hair and tattoos on his face. The similarities the two share correspond to why he wants a major payday from Rockstar Games. The use of Sullivan’s likeness is fair game under the Fair Use doctrine with the purpose of parodies.

@lawrence.sullivan0 #gta6 #gta6new #gtaonline #gta6joker #florida #maimijoker #gta6 #floridajoker #miami #305 #727 #gta6trailer #thejoker #facetattoos #jokersmile #dc #fyp #joker ♬ original sound – Lawrence Sullivan

“The Florida Joker is just money-hungry! Its other people out there in the world that have crazy face tattoos. Plus Sullivan (Florida Joker) is imitating DC Joker…He’s not the original just another low-like Florida man that wants clout,” said an anonymous source.

Roger Clark, who plays Arthur Morgan from Red Dead Redemption 2, gave his two cents by roasting him

Roger Clarks claps back against Florida Joker

Clark explains that he couldn’t even get a job at Home Depot with his face, and that Rockstar will not respond to him no matter how hard he tries.

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

“They had people trying to sue them for decades, they are lawyered up, they know exactly what they can and cannot get away with,” said Roger Clark.

Rockstar has an army of legal experts who know the law, and any litigation or complaint that comes gives them more publicity for the games that they are releasing at that time.

Rockstar’s Past Lawsuits

This is not Rockstars’ first rodeo dealing with lawsuit claims.

For example, A disbarred Florida attorney Jack Thompson filed a suit alleging that the Grand Theft Auto franchise is responsible for violence and murder in the country. This claim was eventually dismissed, but Thompson is still active in his campaign against violent video games.

However, Sullivan is not the only one to have legal issues with Grand Theft Auto for using likenesses. Lindsey Lohan sued Rockstar for their main character’s female cover in 2014. Lohan, known for her films The Parent Trap and Mean Girls, claimed that the image used was of her.

Yet, some people say that the only person who resembled the female character was Kate Upton. Lohan’s case was later dismissed.

Finally, In Red Dead Redemption 2, the game’s primary antagonists included two agents from the Pinkerton Detective Agency. This caused the real Pinkerton Detective Agency to send Rockstar a cease-and-desist letter to Take-Two. Take-two is the lead gaming publishing company with Rockstar games and more. Take-Two took this issue to court. The company wanted the court to rule that the game was under the Fair Use doctrine under historical accuracy. Fair use allows limited use of copyright material without permission from the copyright holder. The judge dropped the case after the Pinkerton Consulting and Investigation company withdrew its claims.

“Rockstar does not owe the man any settlement! A lot of gaming companies will use real-life events or people as a parody,” said John Kepaw.

If Lawrence tries to go forward with the lawsuit, he will be in for a rude awakening when he faces Rockstar’s lawyers. This case will likely fail like the past cases that Rockstar has faced and won.