Why Do People Hate Jared Leto? What Most People Get Wrong

It’s honestly kind of a feat to be an Oscar winner and a platinum-selling rock star, yet still have half the internet roll their eyes the second your name pops up in a casting announcement. Seriously. If you’ve spent any time on Twitter (X) or Reddit lately, you’ve seen the "Why is Jared Leto still here?" threads. They pop up like clockwork every time a new trailer for Tron: Ares or a He-Man movie drops.

Most people don't just "dislike" him. They find him exhausting.

He’s the guy who won an Academy Award for Dallas Buyers Club but then followed it up by reportedly sending used condoms to his co-stars. He’s the guy who fronts a massive band called Thirty Seconds to Mars but holds literal fan retreats on a private island where everyone wears white robes. It’s a lot to take in.

The Method Acting That Actually Annoyed Everyone

Let’s talk about the Joker. Not the good one, the one with "Damaged" tattooed on his forehead.

When Suicide Squad was filming in 2015, the marketing machine was obsessed with Leto’s "Method" acting. We were told he stayed in character 24/7. We heard he sent a live rat to Margot Robbie and a dead pig to the rest of the cast. He later tried to walk some of this back, telling Entertainment Weekly in 2021 that the gifts were given in a "spirit of fun," but the damage was done.

It felt performative.

Instead of people saying, "Wow, he’s so dedicated," they said, "Wow, this guy is a nightmare to work with." It’s one thing to stay in character; it’s another to make your coworkers' lives miserable for a movie that, frankly, wasn't even that good. By the time Morbius rolled around in 2022, the stories reached a breaking point. Director Daniel Espinosa confirmed to Uproxx that Leto was using crutches to limp around on set even when the cameras weren't rolling—to the point where his bathroom breaks took so long they had to strike a deal to push him in a wheelchair just to keep the schedule on track.

People are tired of the "eccentric artist" bit.

If you're going to be that much of a hassle on set, the performance has to be undeniable. But when the result is a meme-heavy flop like Morbius or a widely mocked performance in House of Gucci where he’s "snorting lines of arrabbiata sauce," the audience loses patience. It feels like he’s acting at us, rather than playing a character.

The Cult Leader "Vibe" and the Island

Then there’s the music.

Thirty Seconds to Mars isn’t just a band; it’s a lifestyle for a very specific group of fans called the Echelon. In 2019, photos surfaced of "Mars Island," a three-day fan retreat in Croatia. The photos showed Leto, dressed in flowing white robes, leading a pack of fans also dressed in white. The band’s own Twitter account even posted: "Yes, this is a cult."

Even if it’s tongue-in-cheek, it’s creepy.

The "Cult of Leto" branding might be a marketing gimmick, but it highlights the biggest issue people have with him: the ego. There’s a sense that he buys into his own myth a little too much. It’s hard to find him relatable when he’s posing as a literal messiah figure for people who paid thousands of dollars to be in his presence.

The Serious Allegations That Finally Surfaced

For years, there were whispers. You’d see vague tweets from people like James Gunn or Dylan Sprouse hinting at Leto’s behavior toward young women. In 2018, Sprouse tweeted at Leto, asking what his success rate was after "sliding into the DMs of every female model aged 18 to 25."

The "open secret" finally became a report.

In June 2025, Air Mail published a detailed exposé featuring nine women who accused Leto of sexual impropriety. The stories were grim. They included allegations of him pursuing girls who were 16 or 17 years old in the mid-2000s, sending inappropriate texts, and, in some cases, exposing himself. One woman, DJ Allie Teilz, claimed she was assaulted by him when she was 17.

Leto’s representatives have "expressly" denied every single one of these claims.

But for many, this was the final straw. It turned the "he’s just a weird guy" narrative into something much darker. When you combine the pretentious acting methods, the "cult" imagery, and now these serious allegations, it's easy to see why the public perception has curdled.

Why is he still getting lead roles?

This is the million-dollar question. Morbius was a disaster. Haunted Mansion bombed. Tron: Ares struggled immensely at the 2025 box office, with reports suggesting it could lose over $130 million for Disney.

He’s become "Box Office Poison" in the eyes of many.

Yet, he keeps landing massive IP. He’s set to play Skeletor in Masters of the Universe. The industry seems to love him even when the audience doesn't. Some analysts think it’s because he’s a "safe" bet for studios who want a recognizable name who will do the press rounds and commit to the bit, regardless of the quality. Others think he’s just well-connected with the C-suite executives who don't care about the "online noise."

How to Navigate the "Leto Fatigue"

If you're one of the many people who finds him off-putting, you're basically left with two choices. You can either separate the art from the artist—difficult when his "art" involves being a nuisance to his coworkers—or you can vote with your wallet.

👉 See also: White Actors With Black Wives: Why Representation in Hollywood is Finally Changing

1. Look at the credits: If a film's marketing leans too heavily into "Method" antics, it's usually a red flag for a weak script.
2. Support the alternatives: The reason actors like Leto keep getting cast is because they have high "name recognition." Supporting smaller, equally talented actors helps break that cycle.
3. Stay informed: The 2025 Air Mail report is a long read, but it provides the context that many of the "meme-only" fans are missing.

Ultimately, the "hate" for Jared Leto isn't a random trend. It’s a reaction to a decade of behavior that feels increasingly out of touch with how people expect a professional—and a decent human being—to act. Whether he can ever flip the script depends on whether he can stop "performing" for five minutes and just be an actor again.