Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Break Down Which Main Characters Are The Hardest To Sympathize With

Between all the movies coming out and various streaming services we have to pick from, we're really at the top of the entertainment era right now.

But despite how much we have to pick from, there are some pretty unlikeable characters out there, and some of them are in some predominant, if not leading, roles.


Redditor LuinAelin asked:

"Who's the worst main character we're supposed to sympathize with?"

Hate for Caillou

"I can see the intention behind Caillou, like presenting kids with a child who's actually childish. he throws tantrums and acts selfishly and then grows."

"But I feel like that's too complex for kids. I think kids watch Caillou acting like a sh*thead and just focus on that without internalizing the show's morals."

"Caillou is Tyler Durden from 'Fight Club' for kids."

- mrbaryonyx

An Angry Rant for Caillou

"That f**ker basically teaches kids how to whine about s**t because, 'It's not fair.' What's not fair is parents having to listen to their kids behave like that lollipop-looking piece of s**t."

"F**k you, Caillou. You better hope I better never see your a** in the streets."

- Sammichface

Piper from 'Orange is the New Black'

"I don't know, the other characters point out her character flaws. How superficial and manipulative she is. And then they go into her family dynamics to show why she is the way she is."

"It's the same with all the other characters. It's just at the beginning, we are meant to believe she is somewhat different from the other prisoners because of her background, but the show shows she is actually much the same."

- No_Marsupial_8574

Emily from 'Emily in Paris'

"I don’t just find her annoying, I truly do not like her. She is a deeply toxic person."

"It’s not just that she is spoiled and treats people around her like they are just for her own personal benefit, it’s how she does not care about the pain and problems she inflicts."

"She seems regretful about being found out or getting consequences for her actions, but not about her actions themselves. It’s always 'I can explain!' after she has had plenty of time and situations to come clean about something and, well, explain… but always only a last resort after lying and covering up."

"She is very manipulative and spins all situations to be about her or to her benefit. She plays the victim when she can and only apologizes to gain back control of a situation, but never really seems to try and change her behavior."

- ecalicious

Joel Goodsen from 'Risky Business'

"There's a setup, in the beginning, that Tom Cruise is in some business class where they're supposed to come up with some business idea. Then his parents go away for the weekend."

"Cue that famous scene. Tom Cruise, the protagonist and high school student, orders a sex worker. They turns out to be a man. But that man gives him another number to call and he finally gets a girl, and they bang."

"Something happens where Cruise now needs money. He and the sex worker he's 'befriended' decide to start a brothel in his parents' house. A brothel that caters exclusively to Cruise's high school friends. They make the money they need and then some. Parents come home none the wiser."

"We end with Tom Cruise back in the business class failing the assignment because he was busy doing the whole child brothel thing but ends with a voice-over where he's proudly saying how much money he actually made."

"Turns out he actually was a businessman!"

- MurderDoneRight

Rory Gilmore from the 'Gilmore Girls'

"Whiny, narcissistic, cheated on multiple boyfriends and with a married man..."

"In hindsight, it's not a surprise she turned out how she did with everyone powdering her @ss from day one of the show."

"The way she collapsed because one whole person told her she wasn't cut out for the career she wanted was proof of that. In any other show, that would be the point where the protagonist digs deeps to remember why they wanted that dream or realize their talents were better suited for something else."

"Instead, Rory trashes a boat, quits Yale for half the year, moves in with her grandparents because Lorelei put a foot up her a** for once, and then spun her wheels for the next decade after graduation, doing nothing of note while thinking her farts smelled of roses."

"Mitchum did absolutely nothing wrong, and boy was he ever vindicated in the sequel."

- Shirogayne-at-WF

Both of the 'Gilmore Girls'

"I think people miss the real point of the show, at least to me. You can have all the intelligence, money, and opportunity to succeed in life but your choices are what dictate outcomes."

"Rory and Lorelei are both victims of their own choices. I feel like the revival completed that circle."

- Loocha

Nate from 'Ted Lasso'

"I would have said Nate from 'Ted Lasso,' but the show caught my vibe and turned him into the antagonist."

"I hope he doesn’t get a redemption arc."

"The writers are gonna have to do some next-level s**t if they want me to ever like Nate again."

- Polarexpress07

Cade Yaeger from 'Transformers'

"Cade Yaeger from the newer 'Transformers' movies. Was Sam a good main character? No. Not at all. But d**n, Cade is horrible."

"In his first, let's say, 10 minutes on screen, we learn that he doesn't pay for his house, his electricity, he doesn't pay his employee, he is a s**t inventor, overly protective of his daughter, and is all around an a**. And he only gets worse."

- RangerPeterF

Jax Teller from 'Sons of Anarchy'

"Jax Teller from 'Sons of Anarchy.'"

"Dude’s son straight up got kidnapped and his wife got injured to the point she couldn’t perform surgeries because his stepdad put a hit out on her, and it STILL wasn’t enough for him to leave his dumb motorcycle club."

"His wife begged him to leave for their safety and he wouldn’t... she tried to leave on her own with her children and he stopped her. Then she ends up getting murdered by his psycho mom..."

"The dude was a straight-up piece of s**t."

- ssitchy

Noah from 'The Notebook'

"You're supposed to watch it and be like, 'Yeah, Ryan Gosling is the better man, and Rachel McAdams needs to leave that swine James Marsden for him!' when in reality Ryan Gosling's character is a total f**king weirdo, and James Marsden's character is just like a regular dude who treats her well and isn't evil or anything."

- Shigidy

Oscar from 'Shark Tale'

"He's a lying, self-serving, womanizing, ego-filled waste of space who uses everyone else for personal gain and nothing else."

"It's actually impressive that the 'hot fish' he's after is an incredibly shallow gold digger, but manages to be a better person simply because she directly tells him that's who she is. She's still trash, but she's honest trash."

- mark-five

Mark from 'Rent'

"I love 'Rent,' but as I get older, the more ridiculous it gets. Mark is a rich kid who has parents that love him but he runs off to cosplay as someone who is poor to make 'films,' which is really just him pointing his camera at poor people all day."

"He doesn't think he should have to pay rent to Benny because they were friends and he let them stay for free for a long time and he thinks that should just last forever?"

"Then he finally gets a job but quits because it was 'selling out.' Ughhhh."

- UniBrow4o9

The Silly Rabbit from 'Trix'

"The kids from the Trix cereal commercials. All the rabbit wants to do is eat some cereal, but the kids won't let him just because he's a rabbit. Racist pr**ks."

- Goldensandslash15

While there's a lot of entertaining material here, it's a clear reminder that some pretty unlikeable characters have been created for leading roles, and they're often distastefully masquerading as likeable ones.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Alexander Skarsgård turned his latest film, Pillion, red carpet premiere into a full-blown thirst event.
Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for BFI

Skarsgård Rocks Kinky Look, Fans Thirsty

Ever since his Zoolander modeling days, Alexander Skarsgård has been fueling fan thirst like it’s a full-time job, and his latest red-carpet look might be his steamiest shift yet.

Over the weekend, Skarsgård had the sexy-man audacity to show up at the BFI London Film Festival to promote his latest film, Pillion, in Ludovic de Saint Sernin’s Fall 2025 collection—fashion speak for a white, backless halter-neck shirt and bare shoulders paired with a leather tie, lace-up leather pants, and Jimmy Choo boots.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of Jonathan Karl and Mike Johnson
ABC

Mike Johnson Gets Epically Fact-Checked After Trying To Blame Nancy Pelosi For His Refusal To Swear In New Dem Rep.

House Speaker Mike Johnson was swiftly fact-checked by ABC's Jonathan Karl after he tried to blame Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi—and what he referred to as the "Pelosi precedent"—for his refusal to swear in Democratic Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva weeks after her election.

Johnson previously dismissed threats of legal action for not swearing in Grijalva, overwhelmingly elected by her constituents several weeks ago, saying the outrage "was a publicity stunt by a Democrat Attorney General in Arizona who sees a national moment and wants to call me out."

Keep ReadingShow less
Sarah Paulson with Access Hollywood; Diane Keaton and Sarah Paulson
Access Hollywood; Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images

Sarah Paulson Struggles To Hold Back Tears After Being Asked About Close Friend Diane Keaton On The Red Carpet

Since Diane Keaton's passing, celebrities far and wide have shared tributes about the late star, from how gloriously talented she was to what an incredible friend she had been.

But one celebrity friendship that doesn't get enough attention is the one Diane Keaton shared with Sarah Paulson, who is still openly grieving the loss of her great friend.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @christieandgaby's TikTok video
@christieandgaby/TikTok

Lesbian Nanny Adorably Comforts Crying Young Boy After He's 'Jealous' That He's Not Gay

Love should be easy! We should be able to love who we love, and because love comes in so many different forms, we should be able to love a lot of different people.

But that doesn't necessarily mean we'll get to marry the people we love most, like our childhood best friend.

Keep ReadingShow less
NBC Chicago

Scientists Just Uncovered The Surprising Truth About Chicago's Infamous 'Rat Hole'

Every major city has a truly iconic building or landmark that tourists flock to so they can leave with a photo of themselves in front of it.

New York has the Empire State Building, London has Big Ben, and Paris has the Eiffel Tower.

Keep ReadingShow less