Was Jim Halpert the Real Villain of ‘The Office‘? John Krasinski Weighs In

While some people consider Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) and Jim Halpert’s (John Krasinski) relationship one of television’s greatest love stories, others question whether Jim was great at all. The fan theory that he was the real villain of The Office gets circulated across the internet fairly frequently.

People argue that some of his romantic gestures could be construed as manipulative—like pursuing Pam when she’s engaged to Roy, and purchasing his parents’ house without consulting her first. He’s also pretty widely criticized for treating his other girlfriends poorly and, in later seasons, leaving his family in the lurch to prioritize his career.

But fans don’t just find fault in Jim’s relationships. MovieWeb recently went so far as to call him “The Office’s elitist bully.” He doesn’t work hard because he considers himself above his job, instead pouring time and energy into antagonizing Dwight—who’s often retaliating against something Jim started. Not to mention that some of Jim’s pranks are sort of an HR nightmare: like replacing Dwight’s clothing with a tear-away outfit that Jim rips off in public.

If John Krasinski wasn’t already aware of the smear campaign against his character, he is now. As Boston.com reports, Jimmy Fallon brought up MovieWeb’s headline—“Is Jim Really the Villain?”—when Krasinski was a guest on The Tonight Show earlier this week. Though Fallon didn’t get into the specifics of the theory, it was clear from Krasinski’s dismissive affect that he wasn’t buying it.

“Well, they’re on to me because I played as a supervillain,” he joked. You can watch the exchange below.

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