History Main / DisabilityAsAnExcuseForJerkassery

* [[TheScrappy Connor]] of ''Series/{{Degrassi}}''. As soon as he was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome (never mind that the very portrayal of the disorder was totally inaccurate), he decided that it was okay to be a complete ''dick'' to everyone, especially his friends.

** Averted completely with Doctor Temperance Brennan's clear case of Asperger's Syndrome. She has little grasp of social cues, general etiquette, and people's emotions but if anyone points out that her actions or her words may have caused offense, she is immediately apologetic. At first, Booth doesn't seem to really understand that she genuinely doesn't understand some of the basics of social interaction. However, her best friend Angela is always ready to interpret for her and her colleagues are aware of the problems she has. In later seasons, Booth begins to be able to translate between herself and strangers like the local law enforcement. She does seem to be getting better at it as she spends more time interacting with strangers and talking to a therapist, though her "out of character" behavior sometimes unsettles people after this.
** Her cousin, showing signs of Asperger's Syndrome that are as extreme as Brennan in the early seasons, also quickly tones down the behavior in question (citing quotes from Benjamin Franklin in response to anything and everything) as soon as somebody mentions it being an issue.

* Roy (Chris O'Dowd) in ''Series/TheITCrowd'' episode "The Work Outing" pretends to be disabled in order to cover a series of lies stemming from getting caught using the handicapped restroom at a theatrical performance. Each of his lies, however, only serves to make the situation worse for him.

* The Lou and Andy sketches in ''Series/LittleBritain'' were built around the concept of a jerkass who is pretending to be wheelchair-bound and possibly having learning disabilities in order to both be lazy to the nth degree and get away with being demanding ("Want that one..."), contrary ("...don't like it."), and to get away with some pretty horrible and ludicrous behavior [[spoiler:up to and including murdering a woman who wouldn't take his attitude]]. All this to the complete unawareness of his carer Lou Todd, a rather sweet put-upon man who Andy basically treats as a slave.

** In the episode "The Bubble Boy," Jerry pays a visit to a fan who has to [[BubbleBoy live in a plastic bubble]], but he turns out to be a {{jerkass}} who sexually harasses Susan and picks a fight with George over a game of Trivial Pursuit. But when George [[HeadsIWinTailsYouLose fights back, the neighbors are outraged]]: "What kind of person would hurt the Bubble Boy?". Unlike most examples, the Bubble Boy doesn't even intentionally play up his disability to get people to excuse his behavior. All he does is act like a dick and everyone gives him sympathy anyway.
* ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'': The title character happily tells people that he's a high-functioning sociopath whenever anybody points out his less than sociable behavior.

* A variation is discussed in ''WebVideo/ScreenRantPitchMeetings'', where the Screenwriter describes the main cast of ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' as a group of [[UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist incredibly unlikeable people]] but they'll be "playing the quirky card" with them so that their negative traits will be seen as some form of a mental disorder and thus they'll be seen as endearingly wacky sitcom characters rather than a bunch of annoying jerks.

* In the 1990 Paul Hogan comedy ''Film/AlmostAnAngel'', the film's hero, Terry Dean, is in a bar when he encounters Steve Garner (Elias Koteas), a wheelchair-bound {{Jerkass}} who is using his disability as an excuse to push other people around. Dean calls Garner out on his behavior with a veiled hint that if Garner doesn't stop being such a jerk, Dean will beat the crap out of him. The other bar patrons object, claiming that you shouldn't fight a guy in a wheelchair. So Terry Dean pulls up a chair, puts it within Garner's arms-reach, and sits down in it. He then raises his fists, saying that the fight will now be fair.[[note]]{{Creator/Seanbaby}} would later [[https://www.cracked.com/blog/5-weird-movietv-plots-about-brutalizing-disabled-villains make fun of this "contrived" scene]] by pointing out that Terry still has hip mobility that would give him a clear advantage in punching someone, seated or not, while Steve is fully paraplegic.[[/note]]

* The 2000's ''ComicBook/{{Aquaman}}'' comic [[RetCon retconned]] Black Manta into having severe autism. When Arthur cures his autism Manta appears to HeelFaceTurn and becomes his ally, but then betrays and tries to kill him at the first opportunity because, autism or not, he's still a bad guy. When Aquaman turns out to be NotQuiteDead and comes after him, Manta claims his autism relapsed.

* In an episode of ''Series/LawAndOrder'' the father of a hacker on trial for tampering with medical computers uses his impending blindness as justification and encouragement for the son's behavior. Sort of a disability jerk by proxy (the son had done this to avenge his father, whose condition they blamed on some doctors whom they couldn't successfully sue).

** A combination of Sue Sylvester's protection and this trope keeps Downs Syndrome sufferer Becky Jackson from ever having to answer for her actions. Sue encourages her to take advantage of this.

** Another episode has an [[spoiler: 8-year-old boy]] developing a crush on Cameron, [[spoiler:pinching her buttocks]], and then attacking Chase when Chase and Cameron share a moment together. [[spoiler:Turns out he is sick, his aggressiveness was directly caused by having a hundred times more testosterone than normal and is key to cracking the case.]]

* In the 1990 Paul Hogan comedy ''Film/AlmostAnAngel'', the film's hero, Terry Dean, is in a bar when he encounters Steve Garner (Elias Koteas), a wheelchair-bound {{Jerkass}} who is using his disability as an excuse to push other people around. Dean calls Garner out on his behavior with a veiled hint that if Garner doesn't stop being such a jerk, Dean will beat the crap out of him. The other bar patrons object, claiming that you shouldn't fight a guy in a wheelchair. So Terry Dean pulls up a chair, puts it within Garner's arms-reach, and sits down in it. He then raises his fists, saying that the fight will now be fair.

* Mike from ''Webcomic/{{Shortpacked}}'' [[https://shortpacked.com/comic/asshole-2 demonstrates]] the best way of [[ManOnFire dealing such a person]].

* ''Fanfic/FeralnetteAUBigFatBreak'':

* ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'': When Hank hires a man named Leon, he later finds out that he's actually a drug addict and promptly fires him. Unfortunately, this gets Hank in legal trouble with the Americans with Disabilities Act; since drug addiction is considered a disability, he cannot be fired because of it. Leon starts to make unreasonable demands for accommodation and it doesn't take long for the rest of Strickland Propane's employees to take advantage of it as well, using their so-called "disabilities" to justify their own laziness.
* ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'': When under [[TranquilFury pressure]] from Adrien, [[ConsummateLiar Lila]] claims to have a rare mental disorder that forces her to lie compulsively in order to get Marinette out of trouble. While pathological lying is a genuine thing, and it's implied that Lila might be a genuine case (for instance, she insists on lying to Adrien in "Onichan", even though he knows she's a liar and confronted her about it in "Chameleon"), any possible sympathy for her is negated by her general [[TheSociopath sociopathic behavior]].

Another variation will have the character claim to have the disability despite the lack of a professional diagnosis, or fake the symptoms so that they can get diagnosed with it. This character generally comes from a privileged background and has thus become accustomed to treating other people poorly. Usually this character is just a {{Jerkass}} or AttentionWhore, and would be exactly the same if they did not have or did not claim to have the disability. A popular subject for this over the Internet is UsefulNotes/AspergerSyndrome.[[note]]On the internet, people who falsely claim to have Asperger's are often referred to as having "Ass-burgers"[[/note]]

A SubTrope of AcquiredSituationalNarcissism. Arguably an in-universe example of FlawlessToken. When a disabled character is not entirely jerkass, but just snarky, they are a DisabledSnarker. When a disabled character isn't just a jerk but also ''evil'', then it's EvilCripple. When a character uses their age rather than an illness to get away with similar behavior its ScrewPolitenessImASenior. When a character's disability has real negative affects on their personality or behavior, it's AilmentInducedCruelty.

There is some TruthInTelevision to it: a disability can have a serious impact on a person's personality traits. How much, depends on many factors: the circumstances that led to the disability, the type of life held before the accident (a bookworm may adapt to a wheelchair more easily than a sportsman), the level of support of friends and family, previous personality, how early in their life they got it (someone born deaf is less likely to experience SenseLossSadness than an young adult who lost their hearing), etc. It goes without saying that clumsy handling of the trope can very easily result in UnfortunateImplications. Of course, Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease [[noreallife]]

* A variation is discussed in ''WebVideo/ScreenRantPitchMeetings'', where the Screenwriter describes the main cast of ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' as a group of [[UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist incredibly unlikeable people]] but they'll be "playing the quirky card" with them so that their negative traits will be seen as some form of AmbiguousDisorder and thus they'll be seen as endearingly wacky sitcom characters rather than a bunch of annoying jerks.

** The aptly named episode "The Jerk" had a real [[{{Jerkass}} jerkass]] teenage patient. After almost an hour of showing just how obnoxious this kid was, including insulting everyone, sexually harassing Cameron, and even flashing her, it turns out that the kid really is sick: Iron Poisoning. His liver has difficulty processing iron properly and his mother asks House if the illness is the cause for the kid to be such a jerk. House denies it.

* One recurring sketch near the end of ''Series/{{MADtv}}'' featured a {{jerkass}} mentally disabled man who constantly insulted everyone around him, but always got away with it due to his disability.

* An episode of ''WebComic/TheBedfellows'', appropriately titled "Aspergers," has Sheen's erratic, antisocial behavior diagnosed as the titular illness. Sheen, being [[{{Jerkass}} Sheen]], proceeds to rampage out of his doctor's office, speed through traffic, shove his way to the front of a prescription line and eventually resist arrest for all of it by shouting "I HAVE ASPERGERS!" over and over the whole time. It turns out [[spoiler: he doesn't have the disorder at all. He's just a jerk]].

* A variation is discussed in ''Webvideo/ScreenRantPitchMeetings'', where the Screenwriter describes the main cast of ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' as a group of [[UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist incredibly unlikeable people]] but they'll be "playing the quirky card" with them so that their negative traits will be seen as some form of AmbiguousDisorder and thus they'll be seen as endearingly wacky sitcom characters rather than a bunch of annoying jerks.

** In "Petarded", Peter uses his recent diagnosis of being intellectually disabled to be even more of an asshole than usual, being abusive to people, shoving to front of lines, breaking into a women's bathroom, and just generally misbehaving all with a "sorry, retarded" to avoid any punishment. Deconstructed when his ridiculous behavior causes Lois to end up in the hospital with severe grease burns, and then [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome child services make the Griffin kids live with Cleveland until Lois heals up because Peter's actions have proved he's too unfit to be a single father]].

* Inverted with Professor X of[[ComicBook/XMen The X-Men]. Every time his ability to walk is restored to him, he eventually turns evil.

* Inverted with Professor X of[[ComicBook/XMen The XMen]. Every time his ability to walk is restored to him, he eventually turns evil.

* Frank from ''Film/ScentOfAWoman'' is the poster boy for this trope.

* ''Film/{{Doctor Strange|2016}}'': Even though Christine is incredibly supportive, Stephen treats her horribly after the accident destroys his hands.

* In the 1990 Paul Hogan comedy ''Film/AlmostAnAngel'', the film's hero, Terry Dean, is in a bar when he encounters Steve Garner (Elias Koteas), a wheelchair-bound {{Jerkass}} who is using his disability as an excuse to push other people around. Dean calls Garner out on his behavior with a veiled hint that if Garner doesn't stop being such a jerk, Dean will beat the crap out of him. The other bar patrons object, pointing out that you can't fight a guy in a wheelchair. So Terry Dean pulls up a chair, puts it within Garner's arms-reach, and sits down in it. He then raises his fists, saying that the fight will now be fair.

* Hinted at with Melvin Udall (Creator/JackNicholson) in ''Film/AsGoodAsItGets''. While he doesn't claim that his SuperOCD causes him to bully people with his endless pestering about how they don't live up to his (ridiculously high) standards, it's likely he has a self-serving inferiority complex that assumes that [[EnforcedTrope this trope will be enforced anyway]] because people will feel sorry for him and let his "mistakes" slide. Indeed, he is [[InnocentlyInsensitive genuinely shocked when people angrily call him out for saying offensive things]].

* ''Film/TheIdiots'' stars a cast of [[RichIdiotWithNoDayJob pathetic middle-class jerks]] invoking both this and InspirationallyDisadvantaged by going out in public and pretending to be developmentally disabled, partially to take advantage of people's generosity but mostly to [[ItAmusedMe amuse themselves]] as part of a [[DeliberateValuesDissonance juvenile game]].

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A SubTrope of AcquiredSituationalNarcissism. Arguably an in-universe example of FlawlessToken. When a disabled character is not entirely jerkass, but just snarky, they are a DisabledSnarker. When a disabled character isn't just a jerk but also ''evil'', then it's EvilCripple. When a character uses their age rather than an illness to get away with similar behavior its ScrewPolitenessImASenior.

* ''Fanfic/FeralnetteAUBigFatBreak'': Alya defends one of Lila's most blatant attempts at [[MaliciousSlander maliciously slandering Marinette]] by citing her supposed "[[BlatantLies lying disease]]", claiming that she shouldn't be held responsible for anything she claims under its influence. Lila exploits this to convince Alya that Ladybug and Chat Noir were wrong for calling them out, insisting that the heroes were being 'ableist' when they spelled out the consequences of their actions.

-->"Serves ya right, trying to hit a blind man!"
* In ''Stupid Stupid Man'' the editor Carl hires a paraplegic man for the sake of filling out a quota. Said paraplegic turns out to be whiny, belligerent and sexually harasses the female staff. Carl turns a blind eye to all of this to save face, but is quick to change his tune when his new employee starts threatening to sue him for minor infractions. [[spoiler: The episode ends with the disabled man getting hit by a car]].
* The [=BBC=] Three sitcom ''Jerk'' is about a man with cerebral palsy who’s also an asshole and knows that he can get away with anything.

-->'''Titus:''' Mike, dead serious, "That bitch deserved it."
-->'''Titus:''' I see Satan flash across Mike's face, and my first thought is "You don't deserve better parking, because you're an evil prick."

* ''VideoGame/TheWarriors'': Birdie, a high-ranking member of the Turnbull A.C's, is paralyzed from the waist down and gets around in a wheelchair. He's also one of the biggest dicks in the entire game, which is saying something since almost every character is a gang member, and likes to have other Turnbull's rough up his victims, then run over their crotches with his chair when they're helpless. He's also one of the few characters in the game to use a gun, the others being the Lizzies (who only use it during an ambush) and BigBad Luther, leader of the Rogues.
* In ''VideoGame/DanganronpaAnotherEpisodeUltraDespairGirls'', [[spoiler: BigBad Monaka fakes having to use a wheelchair to garner sympathy and foster a fake relation with the other kids of Hope's Peak Elementary to manipulate and use them to further her plans for ultimate despair. She shows callousness towards the Warriors of Hope's personal issues and the rampant death and destruction they're causing and even manipulates their feelings towards her to get whatever she wants. She shows no sympathy or remorse for the manipulation and even states that pitiful children are able to get away with anything.]]

* ''Webcomic/SomethingPositive'': As a young boy, Fred was admitted to a hospital for an ear infection, where he was antagonized at every turn by a boy in a wheelchair, who used his disability as an excuse to rage at the world, and every other child at the hospital hates him. Eventually, Fred and his friends team up to scare him and teach him a lesson... [[spoiler:whereupon it is revealed that the boy is in the hospital for a heart condition, and the shock of the scare ends up killing him.]]

* A variation is discussed in ''Webvideo/ScreenRantPitchMeetings'', where the Screenwriter describes the main cast of ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' as a group of [[UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist incredibly unlikeable people]] but they'll be "playing the quirky card" with them so that their negative traits will be seen as some form of AmbiguousDisorder and thus they'll be seen as endearingly wacky sitcom characters rather than a bunch of annoying jerks.

* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}''. When the titular character finds out he has cancer he takes advantage of everyone's good nature (such as taking his valet's holiday and convincing Lana to sleep with him again). Once he's indulged, Archer changes his tune and tries being nicer to all the people he knows, [[KarmicNod even claiming that he probably deserved cancer after being such a dick his whole life]].

** In "[[Recap/SouthParkS11E8LePetitTourette Le Petit Tourette]]", he claimed to have [[HollywoodTourettes Tourettes]] so that he could get away with making racial slurs and insulting people. This is only assisted by the self-righteousness of a Tourettes' spokesman, who interprets every suspicion about Cartman as malicious bullying. He's eventually [[HoistByHisOwnPetard hoisted by his own petard]], though, as [[spoiler: his ability to self-censor disappears, meaning his outbursts reveal some ''very'' embarrassing things about himself]].

* The 2000's ''ComicBook/{{Aquaman}}'' comic [[RetCon retconned]] Black Manta into having severe autism. When Arthur cures his autism Manta appears to HeelFaceTurn and becomes his ally, but the betrays and tris to kill him at the first opportunity because, autism or not, he's still a bad guy. When Aquaman turns out to be NotQuiteDead and comes after him, Manta claims his autism relapsed.

[[folder:Film]]

* Frank from ''Film/ScentOfAWoman'' is the poster boy for this trope.
* Dwight in ''Film/ScaryMovie2'' takes DontYouDarePityMe to such an extent that it crosses into this (albeit PlayedForLaughs).
* Hinted at with Melvin Udall (Creator/JackNicholson) in ''Film/AsGoodAsItGets''. While he doesn't claim that his SuperOCD causes him to bully people with his endless pestering about how they don't live up to his (ridiculously high) standards, it's likely he has a self-serving inferiority complex that assumes that [[EnforcedTrope this trope will be enforced anyway]] because people will feel sorry for him and let his "mistakes" slide. Indeed, he is [[InnocentlyInsensitive genuinely shocked when people angrily call him out for saying offensive things]].
* [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] in ''Film/{{Waiting}}'' by an elder gentleman who gets into a discussion with Monty and the new hire about how much he enjoys being a senior because it means he can do outrageous things like FlippingTheBird at a group of schoolchildren, and as long as he smiles while doing it people assume he has Alzheimer's. Then he mentions sometimes a person will slap him and he'll realize he was flipping someone off without noticing he was doing it, so maybe he actually ''does'' have Alzheimer's.
* ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'' sees a Wayne Enterprises named Wallace Keefe, who lost his legs due to the events of ''Film/ManOfSteel''[='=]s climax--and becoming embittered towards both Superman and Bruce Wayne, refusing disability pay from Wayne Enterprises, sending hate mail to Wayne (even saying that Wayne let his family die - despite Keefe's family being alive and well, having abandoned him), and defacing the statue of Superman by tagging it with the words "False God". [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation Of course]], how much of this is his own jerkassery or [[spoiler: Lex Luthor messing with him]] is up for debate.
* The title character of ''Film/RoryOSheaWasHere'' is in a wheelchair and frequently tries to pick fights or break the law, knowing he won't be penalised because of his disability. This is one of many things he's called out on later in the film.
* ''Film/TheIdiots'' stars a cast of [[RichIdiotWithNoDayJob pathetic middle-class jerks]] invoking both this and InspirationallyDisadvantaged by going out in public and pretending to be developmentally disabled, partially to take advantage of people's generosity but mostly to [[ItAmusedMe amuse themselves]] as part of a [[DeliberateValuesDissonance juvenile game]].

'''Stephen:''' ''[derisive]'' Like what? Like you?\\

* In ''House Rules'', Jacob is a Jerkass and considers his autism as a legitimate excuse for being such, as well as that autism is [[GoalOrientedEvolution the next step in evolution]].

* The title character of Maurice Level's short story "The Cripple" lost the use of his hands in an accident with a grain-thresher, and receives regular compensation from a farmer who suspects him of faking the disability. On his way home after receiving a payment, he sees a girl drowning but is unable to grab her hand to save her. The end of the story reveals that [[spoiler:he is indeed faking his disability, and let her drown to avoid giving himself away.]]

* Referenced in ''Literature/TheDrawingOfTheThree'': when Roland enters Detta Walker's head, she screams, causing a nearby security guard to catch her in the act of shoplifting. He goes to apprehend her, but notes that it's going to be a "shit bust" because it's "hard to convince a jury that cripples can also be slime".

* ''Literature/BigendBooks'': This is Bobby Chombo in a nutshell. He is a creep towards women and a jerk to men and then uses his anxiety disorder to make it someone else's fault. It's even debatable if his disorders are a disability or a superpower, considering how he uses them as a scalpel to cut through social situations he doesn't want to deal with.
* ''Literature/TheBerenstainBears'': {{Deconstructed|Trope}} in the "Big Chapter Book" ''The Berenstain Bears and the Wheelchair Commando''. As the title implies, Harry [=McGill=], a new student in a wheelchair, comes to Bear Country and begins attending class with Brother and his friends. Harry [[DontYouDarePityMe refuses to be pitied]], which is understandable, but the problem is that he views ''any'' sort of kindness or decent treatment as nothing more than "special treatment" because he's in a wheelchair. As such, he's become incredibly abrasive and rude to everyone, even those who are genuinely trying to befriend him or help him adjust to an unfamiliar environment regardless of his mobility. When Brother defends him from [[TheBully Too-Tall's]] nastiness, Harry lashes out--and Brother, who's finally had enough of the other cub's {{Jerkass}} nature, gives him a brief ReasonYouSuckSpeech and points out that [[FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse being in a wheelchair is no excuse to treat people like dirt]]. Harry has a HeelRealization and gradually softens throughout the rest of the series.

* ''Series/NeverHaveIEver'': Deconstructed and Discussed. Devi has undeniably experienced a lot of serious trauma, physical and emotional, but Fabiola makes clear to her that it's "not a free pass to treat [them] like crap." Part of her CharacterDevelopment is improving her treatment of others as she tries to heal from her trauma.
* ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'': The title character happily tells people that he's a high-functioning sociopath whenever anybody points out his less than sociable behavior.

* In an episode of ''Series/TheOfficeUS'', Michael suffers from a ''very'' mild burn on his foot, and ends up using a wheelchair. What's more, his constant demands distract everyone from Dwight, who is genuinely injured (he suffered a concussion when he crashed his car into a pole rushing recklessly to Michael's aid.)

* Sugar Motta from ''Series/{{Glee}}'' uses her (self-diagnosed, this is important) Asperger's Syndrome as an excuse to be rude to everyone. This aspect of her personality was dropped when the writers were rebuked by fans who didn't quite get that she wasn't supposed to be a serious portrayal of someone with Asperger's.
** A combination of Sue Sylvester's protection and this trope keeps Downs Syndrome sufferer Becky Jackson from ever having to answer for her actions. Sue encourages her to take advantage of this.

* ''Series/{{Bones}}'':
** Averted completely with Doctor Temperance Brennan's clear case of Asperger's Syndrome. She has little grasp of social cues, general etiquette, and people's emotions but if anyone points out that her actions or her words may have caused offense, she is immediately apologetic. At first, Booth doesn't seem to really understand that she genuinely doesn't understand some of the basics of social interaction. However, her best friend Angela is always ready to interpret for her and her colleagues are aware of the problems she has. In later seasons, Booth begins to be able to translate between herself and strangers like the local law enforcement. She does seem to be getting better at it as she spends more time interacting with strangers and talking to a therapist, though her "out of character" behavior sometimes unsettles people after this.
** Her cousin, showing signs of Asperger's Syndrome that are as extreme as Brennan in the early seasons, also quickly tones down the behavior in question (citing quotes from Benjamin Franklin in response to anything and everything) as soon as somebody mentions it being an issue.
** Averted again, by season 11, as [[spoiler:Hodgins]] ends up in a wheelchair. He is a jerk to everyone, especially [[spoiler:his wife Angela]], making sure to tell everyone he is paralyzed and angry, freely being a jerk even to his boss. Several times Brennan and Cam have to put him back in line. It's not until he threatens divorce and has a big fight with his wife that the two finally start working on their issues. At no point, however, does anyone excuse his jackassery due to his disability.
* Dr. Romano of ''Series/{{ER}}'' was always a jerk, but claimed he grabbed various nurses due to a malfunction of his prosthetic arm.
* ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}''
** George Costanza once faked a disability in order to get a number of perks at his job. He quickly began acting like an even bigger jerk than he does normally, even going so far as to have a secretary carry him to his office. The worst part is that this wasn't even really intentional on George's part. George showed up to the job interview while still recovering from injuries he received in a previous episode and was using a cane to help him walk. His new boss just assumed he was handicapped. George was even going to correct him, but then his boss mentioned the private bathroom he'd be getting...
** In the episode "The Bubble Boy," Jerry pays a visit to a fan who has to [[BubbleBoy live in a plastic bubble]], but he turns out to be a {{jerkass}} who sexually harasses Susan and picks a fight with George over a game of Trivial Pursuit. But when George [[HeadsIWinTailsYouLose fights back, the neighbors are outraged]]: "What kind of person would hurt the Bubble Boy?". Unlike most examples, the Bubble Boy doesn't even intentionally play up his disability to get people to excuse his behavior. All he does is act like a dick and everyone gives him sympathy anyway.
* Roy (Chris O'Dowd) in ''Series/TheITCrowd'' episode "The Work Outing" pretends to be disabled in order to cover a series of lies stemming from getting caught using the handicapped restroom at a theatrical performance. Each of his lies, however, only serves to make the situation worse for him.
* In ''Series/NightCourt,'' a recurring character, a blind woman, was bitter, irascible, and mean to everyone. Because of her condition, few people call her out on this. Ironically, before she lost her sight, she was an even bigger jackass.
* ''Series/JustShootMe''
** Elliot's brother Donnie faked a mental disability for ''twenty years'' just so that he could get away with mooching off the family and not have to work.
** In another episode, Maya dates a blind guy who turns out to be a jerk to everyone else. She continues dating him despite this until he asks her to describe porn for him (there's a similar plot on ''Series/EmptyNest'' where Carol is determined to ignore the fact that her blind boyfriend is a jerk, but she finally snaps and tells him off).
* The Lou and Andy sketches in ''Series/LittleBritain'' were built around the concept of a jerkass who is pretending to be wheelchair-bound and possibly having learning disabilities in order to both be lazy to the nth degree and get away with being demanding ("Want that one..."), contrary ("...don't like it."), and to get away with some pretty horrible and ludicrous behavior [[spoiler:up to and including murdering a woman who wouldn't take his attitude]]. All this to the complete unawareness of his carer Lou Todd, a rather sweet put-upon man who Andy basically treats as a slave.
* ''Series/{{Facejacker}}'': Dufrais, one of the personas, lives on this trope. He is in a wheelchair but is an unpleasant, mean-spirited JerkAss.
* ''Series/TheKidsInTheHall'' featured Bruce [=McCulloch=] in a recurring role as an unpleasant guy who tries to elicit pity sex from women because he has a cabbage for a head (seen as cabbage leaves in place of hair).
* ''Series/{{SCTV}}'' station manager Guy Caballero is always seen in a wheelchair, though he doesn't need it; he just uses it "to get respect."
* ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' played a "lost ending" to ''Film/ItsAWonderfulLife'' where the townsfolk formed a mob to wreak revenge on Mr. Potter-when they find out he doesn't really need his wheelchair they get furious and really lay into him. An interesting note: the reason for Mr. Potter's wheelchair in the first place was that actor Lionel Barrymore needed one in real life.
* One recurring sketch near the end of ''Series/{{MADtv}}'' featured a {{jerkass}} mentally disabled man who constantly insulted everyone around him, but always got away with it due to his disability.
* Ana Guerrico, from ''Series/PadreCoraje''. Falling in love with the priest, and being told that she can't do that, does not help much...
* In ''Series/TheInbetweeners'', Alistair was a JerkAss before his kidney transplant left him in a wheelchair and his illness didn't humble him at all. It's made funnier because the people around them see him as InspirationallyDisadvantaged, which he exploits to get attention from girls.
-->'''Jay''': "He's a dick! I never liked him when he was well, I never liked him when he was ill and don't like him now he's getting better... He was a complete bell-end. He was worse than [[InSeriesNickname Briefcase]]... He's not going to have got more interesting in a hospital bed attached to a drip for a year... and he used to stink."
* It's far from being the only excuse he gives, but Rimmer in ''Series/RedDwarf'' sometimes blames at least some of his awfulness on the fact that he suffers from the worst disability there is: he's dead.
* From the day he came out of his coma, numerous ''Series/GeneralHospital'' characters have used Jason Morgan's brain damage as an excuse for his horrible behavior. To the point where his new girlfriend Robin instantly forgave him for cheating on her with Carly because he supposedly was genuinely unable to understand that it was wrong to sleep with someone else while dating her.
* Parodied on ''Series/DesigningWomen'', when Allison (played by Julia Duffy) says that she is unable not to be annoying, and a psychiatrist has diagnosed her with OPD, or "Obnoxious Personality Disorder."
* In ''Series/CurbYourEnthusiasm'', Creator/MichaelJFox appears AsHimself, irritating Larry but claiming it be due to Parkinson's Disease, such as shaking a can of pop and handing it to Larry.
* ''Series/LawAndOrderCriminalIntent'' episode "Silencer" has most of the hearing-impaired people featured act like this. While the one hearing-impaired person has [[FreudianExcuse an excuse]] for acting that way ([[spoiler:his hearing sister who was supposed to take care of him ran off to live her own life and fearing that his girlfriend, who was getting a cochlear implant, would do the same, he kills her doctor]]), another felt her deaf newborn niece was "born right" and one DesignatedHero of the school was a very antagonistic, embittered asshole who even went as far as to shoot a (hearing) woman who dared to speak with the detectives.
* One episode of ''Series/{{Reno 911}}'' sees Jones and Garcia forced to take a cancer patient on a ride-along. Said cancer patient insults Jones and Garcia, cheerfully discusses how his hobby of raping the female patients in his ward, and manages to convince Jones to let him hold his sidearm... and then fires it into a crowd.
* Captain Caïn from, well, ''Caïn'' was already an asshole before he ended up in a wheelchair, but now he can mock the "bipeds" around him and watch them hesitate to respond in kind to a disabled man. The few that don't hesitate get slightly more respect from him.
* ''Series/TheGoodWife'': Recurring antagonist Louis Canning is a lawyer with tardive dyskinesia incurred as a side effect of medicine and invariably plays up his disability in court to elicit jury sympathy. The big joke being, his professional specialty is defending corporations from class-actions over the very type of wrongdoing from which he incurred his disability in the first place. {{Lampshaded}} in one incident where he tried it on a wheelchair-bound judge in conference; the judge basically went, "Yeah, I'm a paraplegic, so what? Knock it off and present your case."
* In an episode of ''Series/LawAndOrder'' the father of a hacker on trial for tampering with medical computers uses his impending blindness as justification and encouragement for the son's behavior. Sort of a disability jerk by proxy (the son had done this to avenge his father, whose condition they blamed on some doctors whom they couldn't successfully sue).
* ''Music/GarfunkelAndOates'': On the show, Timmy the little boy who's dying (and in a wheelchair), notes he can get away with practically anything because of it. Kate and Riki admit they can't call him on it due to this.
* ''Series/InTheDark'': Murphy can get away with a lot given her blindness, and she knows it. Overall she's not a jerk, but at times she does take advantage of it.
* ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'': Frank pretends to have AIDS so he can cut lines at a water park.
* One episode of ''Series/TheGoldenGirls'' features Blanche meeting a guy in a library, only to discover after the fact that he's actually in a wheelchair. After some [[IgnoreTheDisability initial awkwardness]] and a pep talk from the other girls, she decides to take a chance on dating him...only to discover that the guy is already married. He tries to invoke sympathy for himself by claiming that his wife doesn't understand him, but Blanche--who, for all her ReallyGetsAround ways, [[EthicalSlut refuses to commit adultery]]--tells him that she ''does'' understand that he's nothing but a cheating jerk and kicks him to the curb.

There is some TruthInTelevision to it: a disability can have a serious impact on a person's personality traits. How much, depends on many factors: the circumstances that led to the disability, the type of life held before the accident (a bookworm may adapt to a wheelchair more easily than a sportsman), the level of support of friends and family, previous personality, etc. It goes without saying that clumsy handling of the trope can very easily result in UnfortunateImplications. Of course, Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease [[noreallife]]

There is some TruthInTelevision to it: a disability can have a serious impact on a person's personality traits. How much, depends on many factors: the circumstances that led to the disability, the type of life held before the accident (a bookworm may adapt to a wheelchair more easily than a sportsman), the level of support of friends and family, previous personality, etc. It goes without saying that clumsy handling of the trope can very easily result in UnfortunateImplications. Of course, '''Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease''' [[noreallife]]

* In ''Literature/TheMillenniumTrilogy'', Lizbeth Salander allows the Swedish government to classify her as disabled well into her twenties because it allows her to get away with less professional conduct and her legal guardian protects her from most of the annoyances that being falsely classified would bring. This backfires terribly after her legal guardian suffers a stroke and his replacement exploits her disabled status in order to force her into sex in exchange for access to her own money.

* ''Literature/TheBerenstainBears'' "Big Chapter Book" ''The Berenstain Bears and the Wheelchair Commando'' [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructs]] this trope. As the title implies, Harry [=McGill=], a new student in a wheelchair, comes to Bear Country and begins attending class with Brother and his friends. Harry [[DontYouDarePityMe refuses to be pitied]], which is understandable, but the problem is that he views ''any'' sort of kindness or decent treatment as nothing more than "special treatment" because he's in a wheelchair. As such, he's become incredibly abrasive and rude to everyone, even those who are genuinely trying to befriend him or help him adjust to an unfamiliar environment regardless of his mobility. When Brother defends him from [[TheBully Too-Tall's]] nastiness, Harry lashes out--and Brother, who's finally had enough of the other cub's {{Jerkass}} nature, gives him a brief ReasonYouSuckSpeech and points out that [[FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse being in a wheelchair is no excuse to treat people like dirt]]. Harry has a HeelRealization and gradually softens throughout the rest of the series.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* Mituna, Sollux's [[MyOwnGrandpa Dancestor]] in ''{{Webcomic/Homestuck}}'', tends to burst out into profanity and [[FantasticRacism Anti-Seadweller Slurs]] frequently. However, this is because he suffers from severe brain damage that has left him with a split personality and intellectual disability, compounded by several speech impediments and a particularly frustrating typing quirk. As a result, most people don't take his outburst too seriously.

* Mike in ''Webcomic/{{Shortpacked}}'' [[https://shortpacked.com/comic/asshole-2 demonstrates]] the best way of [[ManOnFire dealing such a person]].