22 Characters We All Used To Love, But We Now Realize Are Actually Bad People

"Snape is basically an incel imo."

We recently asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to give us a character they used to admire, but after years of reflection they now realise they loathe. Here are some of the best suggestions!

1. Tori Vega from VICTORiOUS

Nickelodeon

"Only now do I realise that she was the most selfish and arrogant character on the show. All of her peers were more talented than her, so why was the show even named after Tori?"

— oliviabeckman80

"I consider her to be extremely annoying now. She made a lot of poor decisions like when she kissed Cat’s boyfriend behind her back. Sorry, but I just can't stand her anymore!"

— ryannw449ef5a1d

2. Rory Gilmore from Gilmore Girls

Netflix

"After watching A year in the Life – where she was still sleeping with Logan and running away from things/being selfish – I rewatched the original seasons and realised she'd done all these things as a teenager too! So she clearly never grew up or learnt from her mistakes."

— drishtinanwani

"As a teen, she was my idol and I was obsessed, but I recently rewatched the show (in my late 20s) and cringed the whole way through. I actually couldn't get past the first couple seasons – she is truly horrible."

— paigel4729f7ce3

3. Severus Snape from the Harry Potter franchise

Warner Bros.

"Even though Rowling tried to make us forgive him everything, we all know Snape was a horrible person! He didn't love Lily, he was obsessed with her, and he bullied Harry just because he looked like his father, James. I get it, Snape was bullied by James, but Harry isn't James and he should've realised that."

— lberry314

"Snape is basically an incel imo."

— laurenceb43d4071b2

4. Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City

HBO

"Rewatching the series as an adult made me realise how self-absorbed, shallow, and awful she is, which had somehow passed me by when it was first broadcast."

— morganw424f46bd6

"All of the women in Sex and the City are the worst. My friends and I used to think they were such friendship goals, but now I realise they have a super toxic friendship!"

—alexw452dcc8d7

5. Jerry from Tom and Jerry

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

"When I was little I was like, omg Jerry is so smart and funny. Now as an adult I'm like, why are you annoying Tom? He's just minding his own business!"

—stephanieeckhardt33

"Can’t stand Jerry, little prick. Can't you just let Tom win for once ffs?"

—milliew42409bb21

6. Dan Humphrey from Gossip Girl

The CW

"Not only was he pretentious, but the way he exploited everyone for gossip – including his own sister – was so depraved."

— allisongracie

"He viewed his wealthy classmates as arrogant and self-involved, yet didn't see any issues in using them for writing material."

— morshaw95

7. Lucas Scott from One Tree Hill

The WB/The CW

"I used to watch the show and always root for Lucas until I rewatched and realised he is actually a dick! He cheated on Brooke with Peyton, and then Peyton with Brooke. He was always judgmental with Nathan and had a total superiority complex."

— faktar373

8. Steve Urkel from Family Matters

ABC / CBS

"I originally thought he was this lovable nerd and his crush Laura was really mean for rejecting him. But looking back, he pestered her constantly and wouldn't take no for an answer. He also did that 'poor me all I did was love you' schtick one too many times!"

— deannah4d2cdb4a9

9. Ezra Fitz from Pretty Little Liars

ABC Family / Freeform

"I used to think his relationship with Aria was cute, but rewatching it it’s super predatory. He pretended he didn’t know she was a high school student and then when he became her teacher, he continued their relationship! It was truly disturbing. That they ended up getting married in the finale is horrible."

— puffle1327

10. Ariel from The Little Mermaid

Buena Vista Pictures

"She was a right brat to her family and all because she wanted to get married to someone she didn't even know at 16! I think her dad was right to be concerned."

— nicolaracheld

11. Jim Halpert from The Office

NBC

"I did a rewatch and found myself sympathising with Dwight. Yes Dwight can be annoying, but that doesn't mean Jim should bully him!"

— amyl54

"Michael was right, he is smug and arrogant."

— geebl2405

12. Harry Potter from the Harry Potter franchise

Warner Bros.

"He may have some redeeming qualities, but generally he is nauseatingly awful. I know it's been said before, but I don't personally know of anyone who's favourite Harry Potter character is actually Harry, which surely speaks volumes."

— montaque

13. Barney Stinson from How I Met Your Mother

CBS

"At first he seems really funny and a friend you'd want to have, but watching it back when you're older you really see how much of a horrible person he is."

— cardiff_dan94

"The playbook is gross, he constantly makes degrading jokes about having sex with people, fat-shames at least once an episode, lies like a sociopath, and acts like a child half the time. I could write an essay on how gross his character is."

— sophiag43c9fd597

14. Peter Pan from Peter Pan

RKO Radio Pictures

"Wow that guy was a jerk! He was totally insensitive and laughed when the mermaids tried to drown Wendy!"

— kfray22

"Peter pan is so misogynistic and terrible – and Tinkerbell is even worse!"

— ohthatshari

15. Rachel Berry from Glee

Fox

"I always thought she was so special when I was younger but now I think she’s annoying and selfish as hell! She took all of the solos and cried if she didn’t get them. Ughhhh!"

— delilahopheliaaa

16. Ross Geller from Friends

NBC

"As a teen he was my favourite character and I sided with him when he was upset about Rachel spending a lot of time at work. Now, as an adult, I realise how damaged he was from his first marriage. It’s also a jerk move to sleep with someone else hours after your girlfriend says she wants a break. Their break-up was 100% his fault.”

— sofien

17. Edward Cullen from the Twilight franchise

Summit Entertainment

"He seemed really cool and mysterious at the time but now I think about it he's actually a really old guy (like, over 100) who preyed on a teenage girl who was just trying to go to school. He was also never that nice to Bella, so I don't know why she even liked him so much."

– hanifahrahman

18. Gina Linetti from Brooklyn 99

John P. Fleenor / NBC

"She used to be my favourite character but now I'm actually disgusted by some of her behaviour. She's horrible to Amy and Charles, her treatment of Terry is borderline fetishistic, and she spends her entire time at work not doing her job properly. I'm personally glad she's left."

— alexiaelena3

19. JD from Scrubs

NBC / ABC

"I thought he was so relatable, funny, and interesting when I was younger. Now I realise he's an infuriating and entitled prick who throws tantrums whenever he doesn't get his own way, and is indifferent to people to the point of sociopathy."

— joehaydng

"I still love the show and will happily rewatch it forever, but the older I get the less sympathetic I am towards his constant self-sabotage. I now watch it going 'c'mon man, it's season 5! You literally JUST DID THIS, WHY ARE YOU THIS WAY!?'"

— rachelb440e172f1

20. Mrs Doubtfire AKA Daniel Hillard from Mrs Doubtfire

20th Century Fox

"Great film and performance, but in terms of how I view this character now – not so funny. He disguises himself and lies to everyone in order to get his own way! There's no reason why he couldn't have been patient and taken the time to get his shit together. Honestly, the kids are more mature than he is when it comes to the divorce."

— cocopa

21. Albus Dumbledore from the Harry Potter franchise

Warner Bros.

"He seemed like the ideal professor at first and such a cool character, but I later realised he was just using Harry as a pawn."

— cheyennes4c6dc8e64

"He had some wise words but he was such a bad mentor to Harry! At one point he said he knew how Harry felt, but he doesn’t at all – he didn’t lose his parents when he was a baby! He’s also partly responsible for his sister's death and to top it all off, he left Harry with the terrible Dursleys!"

— harrieteveb

22. Zack Morris from Saved by the Bell

NBC

"Just total trash."

— stephaniel4c0ec6a5f

Note: Some entries were edited for length and/or clarity.

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