WORST TV CRUSH

Every show has a character that we love to hate, but Barney Stinson of How I Met Your Mother is the one TV crush that we hate to love. By far, Barney is the most confusingly adorable, yet despicable character of all time. Played by Neil Patrick Harris, this suave playboy is good-looking, super manipulative, and legen—wait for it—dary.

Barney is the worst TV crush to have because he is so darn adorable and so horrible. He regularly manipulates women and has slept with over 200 of them—yes, he has a list and he’s not afraid to remind us. We watch him take advantage of women episode after episode through schemes and lies. Every rational choice he makes should make us hate him: He is practically a sociopath.

And yet he does sweet things like save main characters Lily and Marshall’s marriage. He got jobs for his fellow main characters when they were struggling. He provides comic relief and every time we think he’s going too far, he redeems himself. And this redemption keeps us hooked; we just can’t quit Barney.

Barney Stinson gives a human face to the cheating, lying bastards in society. While we can love to hate him, we also can’t help but love him. This emotional turmoil definitely makes him the worst TV crush.