Television has an interesting way of making you see the good in people and completely disregarding the bad.
Whether they use comedy or love as a buffer, a completely horrible character can somehow still come off as a great one.
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This is pretty common when it comes to male characters on television. Either the show portrays their offensive actions as comical or makes you forget all about the horrible things they've done because they did it in the name of love.
Frankly, there is no excuse for being a bad person, but television does a really good job at making you see shades of gray when it comes to certain men.
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We've created a slideshow below of 17 toxic male characters that TV tried to disguise.
1. Barney Stinson - How I Met Your Mother
Barney would literally lie to girls to get them to sleep with him, steal their vehicles after he slept with them, and he once even admitted to selling a woman. But somehow the fact that he was in love with Robin and did nice things for her made everything else okay.
2. Faustus Blackwood - Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
This guy has mastered the art of manipulation. He puts his own needs above literally everyone and doesn't seem to care if he hurts the people around him. Father Blackwood is just a big no.
3. Chuck Bass - Gossip Girl
Chuck Bass is probably one of the worst characters on television. He tried to rape two main characters in the first episode of the show, and even traded the "love of his life's" body for his hotel. Not to mention how he always emotionally abused Blair and once got physical with her when he was drunk. Chuck never got better, but Gossip Girl did get better at hiding how horrible he was from the audience.
4. Sheldon Cooper - The Big Bang Theory
Sheldon is supposed to come off as funny but really he's just offensive, especially when it comes to women. He constantly degrades most female characters and believes that there's no way they could be as smart as he is.
5. Jimmy Shive-Overly - You're the Worst
There's a lot of pretty sucky characters in You're the Worst, but Jimmy really takes the cake. It's not surprising that a lot of other characters don't like him. He's pretty rude, insulting, and can be just all around mean.
6. Joe Goldeberg - YOU
The show didn't necessarily try to hide just how toxic Joe was, but it did tread a thin line. It's almost like some of his behavior was supposed to seem justified because most of the series was told in his point of view. It was hard not to picture things the way that he did which built him quite a fanbase in the audience.
