History Main / FreudianExcuseDenial

* In the London chapter of ''Videogame/FateGrandOrder,'' Mash jokes that Jekyll cares so much for Mordred that it's like he's her mom. Mordred retorts that mothers don't care about their child, causing everyone to turn silent. She probably never knew about the experience of having a mother beyond Morgan le Fay, who regarded her child as more of a tool, and it probably contributed in part to her WellDoneDaughterGirl tendencies towards her father.

You have a character who acts poorly. A parent who's harsh to their child, or a jerk/villain who does bad things. They do so presumably because [[FreudianExcuse of a harsh upbringing]]. But when brought up or called out on it? They'll think it didn't hurt them, that it was good for them and not realize the harshness they went through.

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* Dr. Robotnik in ''[[Film/SonicTheHedgehog2020 Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' grew up orphaned, with no friends and a burdensome power, [[NotSoDifferent much like Sonic]]. [[NotSoSimilar Unlike Sonic]], he decided to embrace the loneliness by retreating into his ego, deciding he was superior to the rest of humanity and that friends would only drag him down, and used his power for his own irresponsible self-benefit rather than to help anyone. In the present day, he gladly boasts about his troubled childhood as having helped him become the "superior" person that he is now.

* In a comic book from the nineties, ''ComicBook/{{Venom}}'' kills two men who, thinking he was just some hobo, tried to set him on fire. Venom says that that kind of behaviour often is blamed on violent movies and video games, but that he doesn't believe it, since he turned out just fine. He says this while murdering them brutally.

** In one episode, Homer claims that his cousin Frank turned out OK in spite of sharing his parents' bed until he was 21. He then adds that Frank had a sex change and became Francine in 1971, joined a cult and now answers to the name Mother Shabubu.

* In ''Film/EightMM'' "Machine" (TheBrute of the tale, a psychotic violent rapist who killed a woman in a SnuffFilm, starting the whole plot) says once confronted by Tom (TheHero) that no, he didn't grow up in an abusive home and he was never beaten or molested by his parents, he's just a psychotic homicidal rapist because ''[[ForTheEvulz he likes it]]''. A combination of this being more monstrous that he hoped it to be, finally [[RageBreakingPoint becoming fed up with all of the shit]] he had to deal with to get to Machine, and [[DisappointedByTheMotive anger-inducing disappointment]] compels Tom to finish the bastard off in a brutal knife fight.

* In the London chapter of ''Videogame/FateGrandOrder,'' Mash jokes that Jekyll cares so much for Mordred that it's like he's her mom. Mordred retorts that mothers don't care about their child, causing everyone to turn silent. She probably never knew about the experience of having a mother beyond Morgan le Fay, who regarded her child as more of a tool.

[[folder: Fan Works]]
* In ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'', Goku suggests that Vegeta became evil because of the DarkAndTroubledPast he suffered thanks to Frieza. Vegeta quickly sets the record straight.
-->'''Vegeta''': Oh, no. I'd definitely still be evil.
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* In ''Film/EightMM'' "Machine" (TheBrute of the tale, a psychotic violent rapist who killed a woman in a SnuffFilm, starting the whole plot) says once confronted by Tom (TheHero) that no, he didn't grow up in an abusive home and he was never beaten by his parents, he is just a psychotic homicidal rapist because ''[[ForTheEvulz he likes it]]''. A combination of this being more monstrous that he hoped it to be, finally [[RageBreakingPoint becoming fed up with all of the shit]] he had to deal with to get to Machine, and [[DisappointedByTheMotive anger-inducing disappointment]] compels Tom to finish the bastard off in a brutal knife fight.

* In the made for TV film ''Intensity'', the sadistic, sociopathic SpreeKiller Edgler Vess, after being accused of abuse causing his current state of mind, proudly proclaims that his parents were extremely loving and that he was truly a sadistic person from the start (in fact [[SelfMadeOrphan he murdered his loving parents]]).

* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', Lord Tirek does ''not'' take it well when Discord calls him out out for being a WellDoneSonGuy and immediately responds by hurling attacks:

* ''Webcomic/StringTheory'': Played for Black Comedy when Dr. Schtein, a FunctionalAddict supervillain in the making, with many and varied personal problems tries to rationalize why he abandoned his own daughter.
--> "Look, I didn't have a dad either, and I turned out... [BeatPanel] Yeah, I don't know where I was going with that."

* In ''Film/EightMM'' "Machine" (TheBrute of the tale, a psychotic violent rapist who killed a woman in a SnuffFilm, starting the whole plot) says once confronted by Tom (TheHero) that no, he didn't grew up in an abusive home and he was never beaten by his parents, he is just a psychotic homicidal rapist because ''[[ForTheEvulz he likes it]]''. A combination of this being more monstrous that he hoped it to be, finally [[RageBreakingPoint becoming fed up with all of the shit]] he had to deal with to get to Machine, and [[DisappointedByTheMotive anger-inducing disappointment]] makes Tom decide to kill Machine by pistol-whipping him to death.

!!Examples

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

-->'''Franken Stein''': A long time ago, I was analyzed by a group of foolish doctors who feared my violent tendencies and what they considered my selfish attitude. They seemed elated while they were studying me. As if they were solving a crime in a mystery novel, they theorized for hours. Wondering if something had traumatized me in my past or if some terrible influence had come into my life. That was all nonsense though. I've loved tearing things apart from the very beginning!

[[folder:Film]]

-->''The details of my life are quite inconsequential. [...] Very well, where do I begin? My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low-grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a fifteen-year-old French prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet. My father would womanize, he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy. The sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament. My childhood was typical. Summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring we'd make meat helmets. When I was insolent I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds. Pretty standard, really. At the age of twelve I received my first scribe. At the age of fourteen a Zoroastrian named Wilma ritualistically shaved my testicles. There really is nothing like a shorn scrotum. It's breathtaking, I suggest you try it.''

* Series/{{Kaamelott}}: Leodagan claims his father's brutal upbringing worked wonders on him. He's a borderline SociopathicSoldier for who ViolenceReallyIsTheAnswer, and fails to see why his own son is a DumbassTeenageSon (it's not entirely his fault, since the show is a major DysfunctionJunction).

[[folder:Stand-up Comedy]]
* In one episode of ''Paul Merton: The Series'', Paul describes increasingly horrific punishments supposedly inflicted on him by his parents, ending each one with "but it never did me any harm!" Finally he aknowledges that he's become a hate-filled maniac, but still concludes it never did him any harm.

[[folder:Videogames]]
* In the London chapter of ''Videogame/FateGrandOrder,'' Mash jokes that Jekyll cares so much for Mordred that it's like he's her mom. Mordred retorts that mothers don't care about their child, causing everyone to turn silent. She probably never knew about the experience of having a mother beyond Morgan le Fay, who regarded her child as more of a tool.

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* ''Webcomic/StringTheory'': Played for Black Comedy when Dr. Schtein, a FunctionalAddict supervillain in the making, with many and varied personal problems tries to rationalize why he abandoned his own daughter.
--> "Look, I didn't have a dad either, and I turned out... [BeatPanel] Yeah, I don't know where I was going with that."
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* ''WebVideo/JoueurDuGrenier'': After playing a Series/BarneyAndFriends game where you can't die, nothing hurts you and it automatically plays itself it it detects no input, Fred says that playing NintendoHard games while growing up made him the mentally healthy, well-balanced man he is today thanks to finishing the games being more rewarding. Cue CriticalAnnoyance sound from offscreen, which Fred shoots with a HandCannon without looking, staring fixedly into the camera.

* In a ''WesternAnimation/DanVs'' episode Dan laments that parents these days aren't raising their children correctly, then mentions off-handedly that his parents just left him to watch TV and play videogames all day, every day. Chris and Elise think that might be why Dan wound up as an unemployed, violent, nearly-friendless misanthrope, but Dan insists he turned out ''awesome''!

-->''Then we figured out we could park them in front of the TV. That's how I was raised, and I turned out TV.''
** In one episode of The Simpsons, Homer claims that his cousin Frank turned out OK in spite of sharing his parents' bed until he was 21. He then adds that Frank had a sex change and became Francine in 1971, joined a cult and now answers to the name Mother Shabubu.
** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E14LisaVsMalibuStacy Lisa Vs. Malibu Stacy]]", Lisa is upset that the Malibu Stacy doll is saying sexist things when it was supposed to be a role model for girls. Marge tries to comfort her by saying, "I had a Malibu Stacy when I was little, and I turned out all right". However, what she says next is repeated by Lisa's Stacy doll: "Now let's forget our troubles with a big bowl of strawberry ice cream!"
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''Webcomic/StringTheory'': Played for Black Comedy when Dr. Schtein, a FunctionalAddict supervillain in the making, with many and varied personal problems tries to rationalize why he abandoned his own daughter.

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': Ezri tries tapping into Garaka's childhood to treat his claustrophobia; his father used to lock him in the closet as punishment. He dismisses it. (In this case, he's actually right because his attacks are caused by an ongoing case of MyGodWhatHaveIDone.)