 The game has generated several controversies related to its violence and depiction of women . A mission that requires players to use torture equipment in a hostage interrogation polarised reviewers , who noted its political commentary but felt that the torture sequence was in poor taste . The mission also received criticism from politicians and anti @-@ torture charity groups . The game became subject to widespread online debate over its portrayal of women , particularly in the wake of backlash against GameSpot journalist Carolyn Petit when she claimed the game was misogynistic in her review . After Petit 's review webpage received more than 20 @,@ 000 largely negative comments , many journalists defended her right to an opinion and lamented the gaming community 's defensiveness towards criticism . Television personality Karen Gravano and actress Lindsay Lohan have both filed lawsuits against Rockstar in allegation that characters in the game were based on their likenesses . Australian department store Target pulled the game from their 300 stores following a Change.org petition against depictions of violence toward women in the game . 
