15 Most Offensive Movie Characters

By Jack Pooley /

11. Sheriff J.W. Pepper (Clifton James) - Live & Let Die, The Man With The Golden Gun

The Character: A Louisiana-based Sheriff who crosses James Bond in two of his outings, the former in Pepper's backyard, and then in The Man with the Golden Gun, Pepper is on holiday in Thailand with his wife when he again meets 007. Why He's Offensive: Pepper primarily functions as comic relief, but he's more annoying than anything, and was clearly shoved into Live and Let Die as a Southern hick stereotype to try and bat away claims that the movie's black characters were racist stereotypes. That's right: Pepper is that all-too-rare token white guy. More than anything, though, it's just upsetting that the filmmakers felt audiences needed a character like this: he's a bumbling oaf who frequently gets foiled, either by Bond or a baby elephant (who pushes him into a river in Thailand), and almost every sound that comes out of his mouth is immensely grating. Does He Ruin The Movies?: He's too small a component to really kill the movies, though they're hardly top-tier Bond efforts anyway, and Pepper's presence does contribute a little to why.