17 Toxic Male Characters TV Tried to Disguise

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.

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.

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.

7. Tate Langdon - American Horror Story

Tate literally shot up a school and raped Violet's mom. However, his love for Violet was supposed to be so beautiful and all-consuming that the bad stuff was something we wanted Violet to look past. It's amazing and scary how he could do such horrible things and the show could still find a way to make the audience root for him.

8. Finn Collins - The 100

Finn is your typical "good guy." He acts like he's always on the side of righteousness while he's off doing some sketchy things on the side. He cheated on his girlfriend of years merely days after he came to the ground and met Clarke. He always used the excuse that he wasn't sure he'd see her again, but it doesn't appear like he was holding out hope for too long.

9. Michael Scott - The Office

As funny as Michael Scott can be, there's no denying that he's racist, sexist, and overall offensive. Granted that was supposed to be part of the joke but being degrading towards others really isn't that funny.

10. Rumpelstiltskin - Once Upon a Time

This guy was the absolute worst. Once Upon a Time kept trying to give him redemption after redemption even though he would continuously lie to everyone and put his need for power above everyone. Even the woman he supposedly loved wasn't exempt from his evil plans. Everyone deserves a second chance, but it's time to call it quits by the tenth.

11. Damon Salvatore - The Vampire Diaries

To be fair, most characters on The Vampire Diaries were toxic but Damon was one of the worst. Not only did he kill literally everyone (including Elena's brother) but he regressed far too many times in the series. When Katherine pretended to be Elena and didn't want to be with Damon, he started threatening all of her friends. And this was like Season 5. Yeah, that's not okay.

12. Ezra Fitz - Pretty Little Liars

Ezra, or "Mr. Fitz" was all kinds of creepy. What kind of teacher has an intimate relationship with a 16-year-old high school student? One that should be in jail. Not to mention how he was actually stalking Aria and her friends the entire time in order to write a book.

13. Peter Griffin - Family Guy

Peter isn't necessarily supposed to be a "good" character, but he is supposed to be entertaining and liked by the audience. Instead, his jokes aren't at all funny, he's offensive in every way possible, and the way he treats his family isn't something that's enjoyable to watch. He may be a cartoon, but he's a pretty horrible one.

14. Justin Foley - 13 Reasons Why

It's undeniable that Justin has come a far way from Season 1. He's become a much better person than he was and he's really trying to better himself. However, there's no denying just how toxic he was and the fact that he willingly sat by while his girlfriend was raped. Justin and Jessica ending up together again is just not okay.

15. Dawson Leery - Dawson's Creek

Dawson is the definition of entitled. He was so obsessed with what he deserved he didn't even stop to think about why he wasn't getting it. Plus, the way he treated women was crappy, to say the least.

16. Ross Geller - Friends

Ross Geller has a bad case of "nice guy syndrome." He thinks he can literally do no wrong and can treat people however he would like. Don't even get us started on how degrading he was towards Rachel and the way he treated her career as trivial and unimportant. And we can't forget the time he fired their nanny that Rachel loved simply because he was a guy.

17. Dev Shah - Master of None

Dev seems like a good person at first glance, but really there's something off about him. He tries to appear genuine, but his views on women aren't all that great.