A Florida man, who has become known as the "Florida Joker" due to his facial tattoos resembling the supervillian, is accusing Grand Theft Auto of using his likeness in a promotional video for its upcoming game.
Rockstar Games released the first trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI on Dec. 4, reintroducing gamers to the Miami-inspired fictional city of "Vice City."
The city depicts several Florida tropes and people throughout the trailer, including crowded coastlines, a woman twerking on top of a moving car, a monster alligator inside of a store.
The trailer also showcased some characters that look very familiar to some Floridians we've seen in the news and apparently the "Florida Joker" is not too happy about his likeness being used in the trailer and subsequent video game. He took to TikTok to share his thoughts about the matter to his followers.
Here's everything to know about the "Florida Joker" and his response to the trailer.
Lawrence Sullivan was a former tattoo model from Miami who shot to Internet fame overnight when his 2017 mugshot went viral. According to the Tampa Bay Times, a Miami-Dade police report said he was arrested and charged with carrying a concealed firearm.
Seemingly coming straight out of a DC comic book, Sullivan captivated many online with his colorful array of facial tattoos and bright green hair, earning him the nickname of the "Florida Joker."
While the character is in the trailer for barely three seconds, social media users and video game journalists were quick to notice a character donning facial tattoos and colored hair while standing in a courtroom.
The GTA version is a bit different with purple hair instead of green and some different face tattoos. However, it's hard not to notice the similarities. IGN even noted the small clip as one of the top Florida references gamers can spot in the game.
Sullivan posted a short video to his over 2,000 followers on TikTok on Tuesday, Dec. 5.
"You might have seen that character on GTA 6, [they] just dropped the trailer today," says Sullivan. "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."
Sullivan ends the short clip by saying, "GTA, we gotta talk." Following his statement video, he posted photos of himself and the character, liking comments who agreed with the similarities.
"We got a GTA 6 lawsuit before we even got GTA 6," one commenter joked.
Set to Tom Petty's "Love Is A Long Road," the trailer introduces players to the franchise’s first female protagonist, Lucia, while she's in prison. It was leaked back in 2022 that there are, seemingly, two protagonists — the one introduced in the trailer and her partner, USA TODAY reported.
The trailer doesn’t give a whole lot away for the action game plot wise. It is said that the two are caught up in some sort of "gang-related mess."
The female protagonist makes one thing clear in the trailer: "The only way we're going to get through this is by sticking together and being a team."
After dropping the 90-second trailer early on Monday, Dec. 4, it has already received over 130 million views on YouTube.
Watch the entire trailer for "Grand Theft Auto VI" below:
Rockstar Games has confirmed that GTA 6 will expand its scope far beyond Vice City, with the Miami-inspired city just one part of the map.
As of Dec. 6, a full-fledged Grand Theft Auto 6 map has not been released yet.
GTA VI releases in 2025, according to the reveal trailer.
No, GTA 6 pre-orders are not currently available, mainly due to the game not releasing until 2025.
According to Rockstar Games, there will be few platforms that will enjoy GTA 6 game plays, saying "Grand Theft Auto VI will be coming to Play Station 5 and Xbox X Series X|S consoles in 2025."
