- 11 minutes ago
They might be fun to watch, but you'd never want to take life advice from them! Join us as we count down the most iconic TV characters who glorify lying, manipulation, and reckless behavior. Our list includes characters from "Gossip Girl," "Breaking Bad," "Mad Men," "Shameless," and more! Which TV character do you think is the worst influence? Let us know in the comments!
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00:10Welcome to WatchMojo, and inspired by our upcoming board game Terrible Influence,
00:15we're looking at popular TV characters who might be fun to watch,
00:18but set an awful example by glorifying lying, manipulation, and reckless behavior.
00:30You need me to teach you how to drive, or the toilet needs plunging.
00:35You know, normal things between a man and his girlfriend's daughter.
00:41If you love games, be sure to check out WatchMojo's new game, Terrible Influence.
00:46Just launched for purchase at TerribleInfluence.com.
00:49Terrible Influence is a satirical board game about the dark side of fame
00:53from the writer of the most popular girls in school and us, WatchMojo.
00:56Boom. I can make an apology video.
00:59Oh, you so would.
01:00Click on the link in the description to check out the game and be the first to play Terrible Influence.
01:06Number 10. Chuck Bass, Gossip Girl
01:09I was in Paris, but only to get your favorite macaroons from Pierre Hermès.
01:18And Germany?
01:20To pick up your favorite false stock in us?
01:24You know how I adore them.
01:25With wealth, status, and power at his fingertips,
01:28Gossip Girl's designated bad boy has his fun messing around with other people's lives.
01:33Operating with a mixture of casual indifference and a sense of entitlement,
01:37he treats relationships like transactions and mistakes the temporary inconveniences.
01:42Honestly, it's the kind of protection you'd expect from someone playing a powerful family card in Terrible Influence.
01:47You said you would stand by me through anything.
01:51This Blair is anything.
01:54I never thought that the worst thing you would ever do would be to me.
01:57Along with using Blair like a disposable pawn in his schemes,
02:01he twists his cruelty to pin the blame on her.
02:03In an environment that rewards his arrogance,
02:06Chuck is all too happy to throw anyone under the bus,
02:09knowing his scandals can disappear as easily as he's created them.
02:12You twisted, manipulative psychopath.
02:16How could you?
02:18You're going to have to be a tad more specific.
02:21It's been a busy few days.
02:23Number 9.
02:23Piper Chapman
02:24Orange is the new black.
02:26Although the series tries to frame her as a victim of circumstance,
02:29it's hard to sympathize with Piper.
02:31If her selfish, self-righteous attitude wasn't enough,
02:34her long list of disastrous decisions turns both the characters and audiences against her.
02:39What did they give you?
02:40Time off for every innocent person that you threw under the bus?
02:43Whether turning the other inmates against one another
02:45or accidentally kick-starting a gang of white supremacists,
02:49Piper has a habit of making things worse while blaming everyone else.
02:52No.
02:56I am heartbroken.
02:59And I do not know what to do.
03:02Even the end of her arc should be treated as a cautionary tale.
03:05The show portrays her relationship with Alex as a hopeful new beginning.
03:09But Piper essentially reinforces the same toxic dynamic
03:12that landed her in trouble in the first place.
03:14I don't like this version of you.
03:16Well, maybe I don't like this version of you.
03:18Number 8.
03:19Will Schuster
03:20Glee
03:20It's called the First Amendment, Sue.
03:22This is about freedom of expression.
03:24Well, then feel free to express that out loud
03:26as you pace the floors of your dingy, lonely apartment.
03:29Because you, Will Schuster, are fired.
03:32I am not leaving.
03:34And I will be appealing this to the school board.
03:37When a supposed wise mentor blackmails a student into joining his club,
03:42odds are viewers won't exactly warm up to him.
03:44And yet, Will Schuster does just that to kickstart the series.
03:47Instead of fostering a sense of self-worth in his students,
03:50he manipulates and guilt trips them into anchoring their identities to his approval.
03:54You'll get kicked out of school.
03:56You'll lose your football scholarship.
03:58Wait, I had a football scholarship to where?
04:01You could land in prison, son.
04:03Oh my god.
04:04Please, don't tell my mom.
04:08Look, I see a lot of myself in you, Finn.
04:11I know what it's like to struggle to make good life choices.
04:15Infamously petty and frequently controlling,
04:18Will leaves his students learning life the hard way,
04:20keeping them stuck in a world that revolves around him.
04:23Over time, he sheds nearly all of his redeeming qualities,
04:27becoming a caricature of himself who portrays self-centered leadership as encouragement.
04:32So, if you have a teacher like Will at school,
04:35do yourself a favor and switch classes before it's too late.
04:38It was you.
04:39You're the one who complained to Principal Figgins about me.
04:41Yeah, and I do it all over again after that performance.
04:44You're messing with adult things here, Santana.
04:46This is my job.
04:47This is my life.
04:48This is my education, and it's not a joke to me,
04:51although it seems to be one to you.
04:53Number 7.
04:54Barney Stinson.
04:55How I Met Your Mother.
04:56It's a truth you can't refute.
05:02Nothing suits me like a suit.
05:05From lying and conning women as part of his playbook to pushing his friends to do the same,
05:10Barney isn't as legendary as the show wants him to be.
05:13While loyal to his friends when it matters,
05:15he clearly enjoys watching them trip and stumble over situations he pushes them into.
05:20Whether laughing at Robin's fractured relationship with her father,
05:23mocking Marshall's ideals,
05:24or pushing Ted to embarrass himself in his search for the one,
05:28Barney casually betrays his friend's trust.
05:30It's gonna be legend.
05:32Wait for it.
05:32And I hope you're not lactose intolerant,
05:34because the second half of that word is dairy.
05:36Even if he's honest about who he is,
05:38rather than being a fake nice guy like Ted,
05:40that doesn't give Barney a pass for most of what he does.
05:43It's fine to be entertained by his antics,
05:45just don't count on learning something from old Swarly.
05:48A bro who calls dibs first has dibs.
05:52Oh?
05:53Dibs!
05:54Number 6.
05:55Carrie Bradshaw.
05:56Sex and the City.
05:57So what have you been doing lately?
05:59You mean besides going out every night?
06:01We've covered a few self-obsessed characters so far,
06:04but no one comes close to Carrie.
06:06As far as she's concerned,
06:08the world is her stage,
06:09and she's always the main character.
06:11Okay.
06:13Yeah.
06:14Maybe I've dated men who are wrong for me,
06:17but who hasn't?
06:18But the thing they have in common is you.
06:23It's the kind of mindset you expect from someone
06:25using terrible influences always in the spotlight card.
06:28She doesn't care why people are talking about her,
06:30only that they are.
06:31To Carrie,
06:32friends, romances, and basic responsibility are all optional,
06:36so long as she remains the main focus.
06:38While Sex and the City would have us believe
06:40these are all flaws she grows out of,
06:42that message never really lands.
06:44Don't call me ever again!
06:46Don! Forget you know my number!
06:47In fact, forget you know my name!
06:50If there's something to learn from Carrie,
06:52it's that true happiness comes from within,
06:54but only if you've ignored just about everything else about her.
06:57If you don't want to marry me right now,
07:00you'll never want to marry me.
07:03That's not true.
07:04I think it is.
07:06Number five, Don Draper, Mad Men.
07:09Sure, he's tall, dark, and debonair.
07:11And yes, Jon Hamm is as swoon-worthy as can be.
07:14But all things considered, Don Draper is bad news.
07:18Behind the carefully polished exterior,
07:20Don sells the idea of success through emotional detachment
07:23and a complete lack of accountability.
07:25I'm going to Reno,
07:26and you're going to consent,
07:28and that's the end of this.
07:29Don't threaten me.
07:31I know all about you.
07:33He speaks with absolute authority
07:35and expects everyone to bend to him,
07:37sidestepping out of conflict with half-truths and brittle logic.
07:40Those who endure his behavior
07:42end up in their own cycle of lies and deception,
07:44learning to justify self-destruction
07:46as a necessary cost of ambition.
07:48But I do know what it feels like to be out of place,
07:53to be disconnected,
07:55to see the whole world laid out in front of you
07:59the way other people live it.
08:01There's something about you that tells me you know it too.
08:05Behind the smart suits and slicked-back hair
08:08is a dangerous capacity for damage,
08:10one that his inner circle pays for time and again.
08:13Number four, Nancy Botwin, Weeds.
08:16Give me a little respect.
08:17I'm the biggest game in the private community of aggressive.
08:20Drugs sell themselves, biscuit.
08:22After the sudden death of her husband,
08:24Nancy turns to illicit activities to support her family.
08:27That might sound like an act of desperation,
08:29but her real goal is preserving the cushy lifestyle
08:32she's grown accustomed to.
08:33Over the following seasons,
08:35she cheats, cuts corners,
08:36and drags all her family and friends
08:38into her expanding web of lies.
08:41The example she creates for her sons
08:43is particularly troubling,
08:44mainly teaching them to see the law
08:46as a loophole to exploit.
08:48Listen up, everybody.
08:49There's nothing to worry about.
08:50You're looking at a fine
08:51and probably an anti-drug class.
08:54So no jail time?
08:55You've obviously never sat through an anti-drug class.
08:57Her dead-end relationships and over-the-top hijinks
09:00might be funny to an extent,
09:02but taken together,
09:03they form a pattern of avoidance,
09:05reckless rule-breaking,
09:06and constant betrayal.
09:08I was looking for the perfect gift
09:10to get my wife,
09:11and so I got her in neighborhood.
09:15You got me in neighborhood.
09:18Number three, Frank Gallagher.
09:20Shameless.
09:21He may be positioned as the chaotic center
09:23of a dysfunctional family,
09:25but Frank is hardly the poster figure
09:27for growth or development.
09:36Despite being a neglectful father
09:38and perpetual screw-up,
09:39he expects his children to support him
09:41and his substance use disorder.
09:43With an example as unstable as his,
09:45it's no wonder the younger Gallagher's
09:47spiral into their own problems.
09:48He who is without sin,
09:51let him cast the first stone.
09:53That's basically the gist of it, isn't it?
09:55Given how much he's left his family
09:57in free fall,
09:58Frank still doesn't get called out
09:59as much as he should,
10:00with the show at times
10:01selling him as a victim of circumstance.
10:04But when it comes to the Gallagher patriarch,
10:06it isn't so much do as I say,
10:08not as I do,
10:08but don't do anything like this
10:10at all instead.
10:12Is that all you got?
10:14That's it?
10:18I'm still here!
10:21Number two, everyone.
10:22It's always sunny in Philadelphia.
10:25My mommy's a skeleton!
10:27I grifted your ass as good
10:29because you said I was slipping.
10:31I feel too much!
10:32I feel too much!
10:33You made me dig up my dead mother
10:35because I said you were losing it?!
10:37Fans have definitely romanticized
10:39the It's Always Sunny gang over the years.
10:41Their unbridled energy
10:43and regular pratfalls
10:44are oddly endearing after all.
10:46However,
10:47once you remove that comedic lens,
10:49these characters come across
10:50a lot worse.
10:51From doomed get-rich-quick schemes,
10:53non-stop public offenses,
10:55and making rickety cricket's life
10:56a living hell,
10:57this group of narcissists
10:58are the last people
10:59to draw any inspiration from.
11:01Charlie, in particular,
11:02sinks to the lowest depths
11:04for a moment's approval.
11:18I think we need to try
11:22staying a mile away from them.
11:23You better believe it.
11:24I've got an idea.
11:29So we're just gonna lock them in there?
11:31They're definitely gonna burn to death.
11:32Number 1.
11:33Walter White, Breaking Bad.
11:35The show begins by placing Walt
11:37as the tragic hero.
11:38With precious little time left
11:40and a family to provide for,
11:42he's pushed into a life of crime
11:43out of sheer desperation.
11:44But this facade crumbles soon enough,
11:47as Walt's thirst for power,
11:48validation,
11:49and control
11:50destroys everything it touches.
11:52Walter White?
11:56You got me.
11:57Forcing Jesse to commit
11:59heinous crimes on his behalf,
12:00gaslighting him
12:01and his family,
12:03intimidating anyone
12:04who challenges him,
12:05and resorting to violence
12:06the moment it becomes convenient,
12:08Walt is an example
12:09of unchecked ego
12:10pushed too far.
12:11I liked it.
12:16I was good at it.
12:19While we can appreciate
12:20his complexity as a character,
12:22there is nothing impressive
12:23about Walter as a human being.
12:25You're goddamn right.
12:27Did you enjoy this video?
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