Characters Everyone Hates In Grand Theft Auto

Over the course of its 11 main entries and various DLC, the Grand Theft Auto series has always known how to make a splash. The early games were praised for their innovative open worlds where players could run free committing shocking crimes, such as hitting pedestrians and destroying police cars. With the release of Grand Theft Auto 3, the franchise gained real infamy and earned such prestigious titles as the Most Offensive Game of the Year and the Guinness World Record for the Most Controversial Video Game series.

But look beyond the surface spectacle and you'll find the Grand Theft Auto games offer a rich, fully-realized universe teeming with memorable, diverse characters. These are not the one-dimensional heroes and villains of fairy tales. Rather they are complex, flawed people with hopes and dreams and goals. If you play through this series, you're sure to find many new favorites. However, just as in real life, there will be some figures you simply cannot stand. 

Here are the characters everyone hates in Grand Theft Auto. Spoilers ahead.

Described as a "reckless, psychotic, and extremely aggressive woman," Catalina earns her role as an antagonist in the series with her love of robbery, murder, and betraying the men she dates — including CJ, the protagonist of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and Claude, the protagonist of Grand Theft Auto 3, who she shoots and leaves for dead. In fact, how Claude managed to stay in a nine-year relationship with her continues to mystify players.

Once rid of the "small time" criminal Claude, Catalina becomes more entrenched in the Columbian cartel, but her criminal career later comes to a close when she kidnaps Maria Latore. Claude delivers the ransom money, and the encounter ends with Claude killing Catalina by shooting down her helicopter with a rocket launcher. It's a fitting end for a woman that fans have called "traitorous," "annoying," and a "filler character."

A native of Kent, England (yes, that's why he's called Kent Paul), Paul is a band manager who, depending on whether you buy his stories or not, may or may not be a criminal mastermind with a background of acting in adult films. What is known, however, is that he's a drug addict and general informant who has trouble with the ladies. 

Kent also plays that rather typical, slimy manager role with the rock bands Love Fist and The Gurning Chimps. You'd like to think that someone of his ilk would eventually get what's coming to them, but his star on Grand Theft Auto 5's Vinewood Walk of Fame suggests this wish doesn't come true.

While Kent Paul doesn't commit any major sins against the protagonist, at least in the same vein as other characters like Catalina, he does manage to be a consistently obnoxious, if relatively harmless, presence. However, his spinelessness mixed with his big talk hasn't won him many admirers. In fact, some fans list him among the most hated characters in the entire series.

At one point in San Andreas, players find Zero in a closet hanging by his underwear, and this interaction really sets the tone for the entire Zero experience. He is a purple prose-talking 28-year-old and proprietor of an electronics shop located on a property owned by CJ. A science fair victory over his rival, Berkeley, has triggered a feud that threatens Zero's business, necessitating CJ's intervention. As if all this isn't silly enough, Zero is often listed among the series' worst characters for a few other reasons.

When he's not self righteously proclaiming that he never uses drugs or initiates violence, Zero is roping protagonist CJ into annoying side missions involving bombs and RC planes. These might be fun diversions if the planes weren't brutally difficult to control. And should CJ fail (which is highly likely), Zero rubs salt in the wound by screeching his rival's name to the high heavens, "Curse you, Berkeley!" These missions are so reviled, even Zero's voice actor owned up to hating them.

Yet another character in possession of a star on the Vinewood Walk of Fame, Reni manages to stand out as being ridiculously over-the-top even among decades' worth of other colorful Grand Theft Auto characters. They are the recipient of four sex changes (from woman to man to woman to man and finally back to woman), and while working as a DJ for the Flashback FM station in Liberty City, they share how their uncle forced them to kill their pet dog and then abused them.

Players will primarily interact with Reni as they dispense missions from their movie studio. The tasks range from stunt driving to murder to escorting Reni to the hospital for their final sex change. Reni associates with and has romantic relationships with drug dealers, which puts them in the middle of some feuds and results in them fleeing to Europe for a career in adult films.

Although they have their devotees, many fans consider Remi to be far more annoying than funny. The accusations of transphobia that surround Remi make this character even more problematic.

Neediness is never a good look, and Roman Bellic has it in spades. Roman lures his cousin, Niko, to Liberty City with his wild tales of living the American Dream, complete with cars, girls, and hot tubs. Naturally, none of it is true, and Niko must then help his hapless cousin work out his many gambling debts.

Roman is desperate to appear successful on the outside, but the reality borders on just being sad. His girlfriend is cheating on him. People insult him to his face, and he simply takes the abuse. He continually begs Niko (usually at the most inconvenient times) to go bowling or play darts. In fact, his requests to hang out are so ubiquitous, there's even a parody song dedicated to them. You could almost feel sorry for poor Roman, but his persistent denial and clinginess has earned him the hate of many Grand Theft Auto fans.

Like many other characters in the Grand Theft Auto series, Ashley Butler is a drug addict who turns out to be more trouble than she's worth. Ashley is childhood friends with Johnny Klebitz, and as adults, they join the same gang and begin dating. However, Ashley continually cheats on him (usually in order to obtain more drugs), so he breaks up with her. She keeps contacting Johnny after that, either to ask for money or to confess to having been kicked out of rehab.

Ashley and Johnny return for the events of Grand Theft Auto 5, but at this point, Johnny is back together with Ashley and has his own raging drug addiction. This transforms him from his previously careful, laid-back self into a weak, cowardly figure and eventually leads to his death. Many fans blame Ashley for Johnny's downfall and weren't sorry to see her meet her end, either by the player's choice or through a side story that sees her OD on heroine.

Simeon Yetarian is only a minor part of the story of Grand Theft Auto 5, but what little story time he does have was more than enough to turn many series fans against him. Simeon runs a shady car dealership, and whenever someone criticizes his questionable business operations, he accuses them of being racist towards his Armenian heritage. You can trigger a random event in the game that ends with Simeon's non-canon death, but you have to have a very specific set of circumstances to make it happen, so the scene is frequently missed.

If you play Grand Theft Auto Online, "Uncle" Simeon is a much more constant annoyance (the online game takes place six months prior to the events of the main game, so even if you kill him there, he'll still be around). Simeon will frequently text requests for you to steal certain cars while also bringing unwanted police attention your way. And if all that isn't is bad enough, he's a complete cheapskate when it comes time to pay for completed jobs.