If you’ve ever fallen into the world of “Gilmore Girls,” you know that it’s a show that feels like a warm hug from a small town of quirky characters. However, behind all the small town charm, one character, Rory Gilmore, is now causing more controversy than ever before.

Originally airing in 2000, the show has remained a staple among many with help from streaming, reruns, and now, TikTok. Although her image has been questioned before, due to the rise of media analysis on social media platforms, Rory Gilmore’s once beloved image is being questioned even more, with some even saying that she may be the most problematic character of them all. 

In recent years, conversations on social media platforms, specifically TikTok, have highlighted the contrast between how Rory is perceived and how she actually behaves. Her flaws are not just realistic imperfections, they often reveal a deeper lack of accountability and self awareness. When revisiting the show through a modern lens, these patterns become increasingly apparent and difficult to ignore. 

At first glance, calling Rory Gilmore the most problematic character might seem surprising. After all, she was introduced as the ambitious and grounded teenager with Ivy League dreams. However, a closer look reveals a pattern of choices that often clash with the values the show promotes. For example, Rory’s romantic decisions include pursuing relationships with taken partners, like her affair with Dean, who was married. This hurt so many people involved in the situation. Academically, she shocks the viewers when she quits Yale after a single negative critique, abandoning the perseverance her character was supposed to show. 

Despite these missteps, Rory rarely faces serious consequences. The narrative consistently frames her as someone to admire, often glancing over the real impact of her actions and shielding her from accountability. Her decisions become more and more self centered as the series progresses. Instead of learning from her mistakes, she relies on her family’s wealth and connections to avoid real world problems. Unlike other characters who face the consequences of their actions, Rory often benefits from a level of protection that keeps her character evolving in certain ways. 

Though Rory’s story aims to portray the complexities of growing up, her repeated avoidance of responsibility and tendency to justify harmful actions with her ambitions prevent true growth. Unlike typical flawed protagonists, Rory consistently escapes accountability, which is especially striking given her role as a supposed role model. As audiences continue to revisit “Gilmore Girls,” it becomes clear that beneath her admired facade lies a character whose flaws reveal more troubling patterns than the show originally acknowledged.