10 The Sopranos characters fans still can’t stand

The Sopranos Exclusive Streaming | Image via HBO Watch
The Sopranos Exclusive Streaming | Image via HBO Watch

The Sopranos offered viewers a universe with many nuanced, ethically dubious personalities through its characters. The show includes realistic characters that helped it become quite popular, yet some of them were still very unpopular with viewers.

Certain characters of The Sopranos created memorable negative moments through their toxic natures, selfish actions, and surprising acts of betrayal. This brutal honesty in the show became a hit with audiences, yet some characters managed to try their audience's patience. These 10 Sopranos characters remain among the fan-unpopular cast members for the following reasons.

Please note: This article is based on the writer's opinion. Reader discretion is advised.


The list of 10 The Sopranos characters fans still can’t stand is provided below:

10. Carmela Soprano

Carmela Soprano | Image via HBO
Carmela Soprano | Image via HBO

The fans of The Sopranos tend to have conflicting emotions about Carmela Soprano because she exhibits hypocritical traits toward Tony, her husband. Despite her repeated complaints about Tony's misconduct, she can overlook it because of the lifestyle she leads due to his illegal activities.

Carmela fights with her conscience by consulting her priest, but refuses to acknowledge where her monetary benefits derive from throughout different plotlines. Carmela faces a major contradiction when she tries to appear morally superior, although she benefits from Tony's criminal business.

The audience feels frustrated because they recognize that Carmela acts as a moral authority against wrongdoings, but continues to profit from her husband's criminal activities.


9. Noah Tannenbaum

Noah Tannenbaum | Image via HBO
Noah Tannenbaum | Image via HBO

Many viewers share negative feelings toward Noah Tannenbaum because he combines arrogance and a pretentious attitude while dating Meadow Soprano. When Noah Tannenbaum arrives, Meadow welcomes him into her house, and in the same episode, Tony Soprano finally meets him. The overt racism from Tony Soprano manifests through his use of racial slurs while he creates an unpleasant situation for Noah.

Noah's uninvited dominance in encounters prevented him from gaining the audience's sympathy despite his haughty characteristics. The general dislike of him stems from his aristocratic upbringing, haughty demeanor, and manner of demeaning others.

There is a common perception among The Sopranos audiences that Whitaker is one of the least likable characters because he embodies both conceit and hollow sympathy.


8. Richie Aprile

Richie Aprile | Image via HBO
Richie Aprile | Image via HBO

Richie Aprile is the character in The Sopranos that many viewers dislike the most. Richie exhibits violent behavior as well as arrogance and maintains his refusal to change. Richie visits his past associate Beansie Gaeta while Beansie operates his pizzeria in the third episode of Season 2, Toodle-Fu*king-Oo. Richie loses control after Beansie disrespects him by striking him with a coffee pot and then serially paralyzing him through a hit-and-run. Tony faces two threats as Richie attempts to seize his faction from him while setting plans against him.

The storyline reveals Richie striking Tony's sister, Janice, as they argued with one another. He is shot and killed by Janice after the altercation. The numerous cruel deeds and lack of adaptability in Richie transform him into a character that viewers deeply dislike.


7. Livia Soprano

Livia Soprano | Image via HBO
Livia Soprano | Image via HBO

Since Livia Soprano is Tony's mother, the TV show's viewers consider her a cold-hearted and manipulative person. In private, she harms everyone else while telling them a depressing tale. During Season 1, she informs Junior Soprano about Tony's psychiatric visits to destroy his future. Livia Soprano's action serves a purpose in a scheme designed to eliminate Tony from existence.

Tony travels to the hospital after learning of this, where he confronts his mother while she is feigning a stroke. The series features Livia Soprano as one of its most unappealing personalities because she expresses consistent antagonistic behavior even to her direct offspring.


6. A.J. Soprano

A.J. Soprano | Image via HBO
A.J. Soprano | Image via HBO

A.J. Soprano stands out as one of the most annoying characters on the show because of how fans view him. He has every quality that would be viewed as unfavorable, since, although leading an easy life, he lacks direction and becomes lazy and pampered.

A scene shows A.J. attempting to seek revenge by attacking his uncle Junior with a knife, leading to his arrest and resulting failure. A short time later, he becomes depressed, so he attempts suicide by tying a cinder block to his body and jumping into the family pool. Tony saves him just in time. A.J.'s continuous complaints and dissatisfaction with handling his problems frustrated viewers of the show.

His affluent surroundings do not deter him from whining about everything and not trying hard enough. His childish behavior demonstrates immature actions and a refusal to accept responsibility, which made him a despised character among audience members.


5. Jackie Aprile Jr.

Jackie Aprile Junior | Image via HBO
Jackie Aprile Junior | Image via HBO

Fans equally disliked Jackie Aprile Jr., who held the status of son to former mob boss Jackie Aprile Sr. The character attempts to be like his father, yet his mental capacity falls short, and he lacks self-control. Jackie Jr. organizes a robbery at a playing card scam to obtain respect from others. A dealer is killed, and Jackie goes into hiding as a result of the unsuccessful plot. The story leads to his death because Ralph Cifaretto gives the execution order.

The Sopranos fans considered Jackie Jr. highly arrogant and careless with his behavior. In addition to cheating on his fiancée and making poor decisions that ultimately led to his demise, Jackie Jr. disregarded his father's desires. Jackie Jr.'s behavior transformed him into the most unpleasant persona throughout the television series.


4. Dr. Elliot Kupferberg

Dr. Elliot Kupferberg | Image via HBO
Dr. Elliot Kupferberg | Image via HBO

Dr. Melfi works with Dr. Elliot Kupferberg as her therapist throughout several episodes of The Sopranos. The fans dislike him because they do not like his haughty demeanor. Dr. Kupferberg tells Dr. Melfi to cease seeing Tony Soprano since therapy helps him become a better offender. While chatting publicly in front of others, Elliot breaches his professional ethics by revealing information that Tony Soprano had said to remain confidential. The audience becomes irritated when therapists reveal patient secrets because they still have an ethical duty to maintain confidentiality.

During his sessions with Dr. Melfi, he expects her to adopt his conceptual framework, but he refuses to show genuine listening skills. He conducts himself arrogantly by evaluating the conduct of others. Much of his fan base feels that he shows more concern for preserving his image than for assisting others. The public portrayal of him as selfish and arrogant has earned him unfavorable status among viewers who consider him a side character among the least likable personalities.


3. Father Phil Intintola

Father Phil Intintola | Image via HBO
Father Phil Intintola | Image via HBO

Father Phil Intintola makes frequent spiritual visits to Carmela Soprano, especially when Tony Soprano is not present at home. Viewers at first perceived him as a compassionate and perceptive priest until they noticed unbecoming actions emerge in his conduct. Father Phil eats supper with Carmela Soprano, then stays to watch movies with her and sleeps on her couch. His actions comprise being close to her while simultaneously transgressing all appropriate boundaries.

Carmela develops a suspicion that Father Phil utilizes religion to gain romantic interest from women. She points out during their conversation that he desires intimacy with the wives of other guys.

The audience disapproved of a priest behaving in such a manner. All his behavior appeared insincere and twisted for his benefit. Spiritual support seemed to escape Father Tony as he delighted more in creating chaos and attracting attention. His unethical behavior was the first step toward the lack of honor shown to Father Tony.


2. Janice Soprano

Janice Soprano | Image via HBO
Janice Soprano | Image via HBO

Janice is viewed as an unpleasant character by Tony's many admirers. She resorts to selfish manipulation for every objective she wants to achieve. She kills her intended, Richie Aprile, after he hits her in a pivotal sequence in the narrative. In addition to her terrible condition, Janice pulls out her revolver and shoots her husband after he strikes her with a belt. After killing her intoxicated fiancé with a handgun, she asks Tony to avoid contacting the police about the incident. The show reveals that Janice hides her spiritual image while she keeps fighting constantly.

Janice pretends to be sympathetic while forcing Bobby Baccalieri to accept marriage through her remorseful performance. Audiences find her performance dishonest and annoying. The family triggers complaints from Janice, who returns to seek money and power. Fans continue to disapprove of her because her choices usually create more problems.


1. Ralph Cifaretto

Ralph Cifaretto | Image via HBO
Ralph Cifaretto | Image via HBO

One of the characters that Sopranos fans detest the most is Ralph Cifaretto. His behavior patterns include cruelty, rudeness, and unpredictable actions. A crucial moment that struck the audience's dissatisfaction involved Ralph as he brutally murdered Tracee, who worked as a stripper at Bada Bing. The young woman at least expected to find better prospects as she carried her unborn child. Ralph moves from mocking her to executing her through violent physical abuse, which kills her.

The violence becomes so extreme that even Tony fails to accept it, prompting him to strike Ralph after hearing the details. Ralph performs his activities without experiencing suffering or innocence. Tony's horse Pie-O-My became yet another victim as Ralph murdered it only to obtain insurance funds. Ralph became one of the most hated characters among Sopranos viewers due to his brutal choices.


We can conclude that the above The Sopranos characters left fans with enduring impressions. The fans had vivid memories of these problematic personalities who either acted violently, were conceited or manipulative, or just made them feel frustrated. All of the negative feelings about these characters persisted after the show ended.

The characters were able to move the primary tale along by their actions, but viewers found it difficult to feel good about them. The characters demonstrated to viewers that the Sopranos universe featured no innocent humans while exposing that certain folks were obnoxious.

Edited by Sezal Srivastava