After being seemingly referenced in this week’s Grand Theft Auto 6 first trailer, Lawrence Sullivan – aka “Florida Joker” – has responded, telling Rockstar “we gotta talk.”
Apparently the Florida Joker that Rockstar parodied in the GTAVI trailer has reacted on TikTok
— Ben (@videotechuk_) December 6, 2023
“GTA, we gotta talk” pic.twitter.com/mm5LefHXUH
GTA 6 takes place in the state of Leonida, which is basically Rockstar’s version of Florida, and fans quickly noticed a number of real-life, Florida-related references in just the brief 90-second trailer. Among them was what very much seemed to be a reference to Sullivan, a tattoo model who garnered plenty of online attention after his mugshot went viral in 2017. Obviously, he earned the nickname “Florida Joker” due to his green hair and face tattoos.
The GTA version, seen in a quick shot of news footage, is a tad bit different – purple hair instead of green, some different face tattoos – but the similarities are certainly hard to ignore, which Sullivan didn’t. He acknowledged the GTA 6 video in a TikTok posted on Tuesday.
THEY GOT FLORIDA JOKER IN GTA 6 pic.twitter.com/7VL35JfKQS
— Born to Tweet, Forced to Post (@The_Cultist_) December 4, 2023
“You know they got that character with the face tattoos, you know who they got that inspired by? By me,” he said. “Just look me up, Florida Joker. You know what I’m talking about.”
“GTA, we gotta talk,” he concluded.
It’s unclear if Sullivan has had any communication with Rockstar (IGN has reached out to him for further comment), but he wouldn’t be the first person to call out GTA for seemingly including their likeness in a game. Perhaps most famously, Lindsay Lohan filed a lawsuit in 2013 against Take-Two for what she claimed was unauthorized use of her likeness for a minor character in GTA 5. The suit, however, was eventually dismissed.
Sullivan’s response is only the latest development in what’s been a whirlwind since the leak, and then the official launch, of the wildly anticipated GTA 6 trailer. In the past few days, it’s been breaking YouTube viewership records and spurring a number of fan theories as fans eagerly await its 2025 release.
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
