Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 3, 2026

Robbie Rotten

Robbie Rotten is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Icelandic children's program LazyTown. He is also the series' primary comic relief character. He is a ruthless, greedy and lazy, yet goofy, eccentric and silly supervillain, and the arch-nemesis of Sportacus, who promotes exercise, healthy eating and an active and healthy lifestyle. As for Robbie, his favorite pastimes include eating junk food and watching TV.

Last revised
Jul 3, 2026
Read time
≈ 2 min
Length
421 w
Citations
12
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Robbie Rotten
LazyTown character
First appearanceGlanni Glæpur í Latabæ (1999)
Last appearanceMystery of the Pyramid (2014)
Created byMagnús Scheving
Portrayed byStefán Karl Stefánsson

Robbie Rotten (Icelandic: Glanni Glæpur, lit. 'Reckless crime') is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Icelandic children's program LazyTown.1 He is also the series' primary comic relief character. He is a ruthless, greedy and lazy, yet goofy, eccentric and silly supervillain, and the arch-nemesis of Sportacus, who promotes exercise, healthy eating and an active and healthy lifestyle. As for Robbie, his favorite pastimes include eating junk food and watching TV.2

Robbie Rotten's song "You Are a Pirate" was Stefán's favorite song on the show to perform.3 Since 2007, the lyric "Do what you want 'cause a pirate is free, you are a pirate" became an oft-quoted meme in YouTube poop and hacker culture, most often in reference to online piracy via LimeWire.456 Around 2016, Robbie Rotten rose to internet fame through the song "We Are Number One".78 The Reddit forum r/dankmemes voted Robbie Rotten "Meme of the Year" in 2016.91011

On August 21, 2018, actor Stefán Karl Stefánsson died of bile duct cancer at the age of 43. Fans of LazyTown and co-stars paid tribute to him.12

References

References

  1. "Robbie Rotten". Lazy Town. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  2. Jessie Yeung (2018-08-22). "Stefan Karl Stefansson, 'LazyTown's' Robbie Rotten, dies at 43". CNN. Retrieved 2018-09-16.
  3. Fennimore, Jack (2018-08-21). "Stefan Karl Stefansson Dead: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  4. McMullen, Chris (2018-01-18). "7 Wonderful But Ridiculous Skyrim Mods You've Gotta Try". GameSpew. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  5. Olson, Parmy. "Interview With PBS Hackers: We Did It For 'Lulz And Justice'". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  6. Do What You Want, Cause A Pirate Is Free... You Are A Pirate, 31 July 2007, archived from the original on 2021-12-21, retrieved 2021-09-16
  7. Patricia Hernandez (2018-08-30). "After LazyTown actor's death, fans subscribe en masse to YouTube channel as a final thank you". The Verge. Retrieved 2018-09-16.
  8. "From Iceland — He Was Number One: Stefán Karl Stefánsson, Iceland's Meme King". The Reykjavik Grapevine. 2018-10-04. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  9. "Stefán Karl Stefánsson, the actor behind Robbie Rotten, has stage 4 cancer". The Daily Dot. 2017-06-28. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  10. "'LazyTown' actor, Reddit meme icon Stefán Karl Stefánsson dead at 43". The Daily Dot. 2018-08-21. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  11. "A meme you've never heard of was named Reddit's Meme of the Year". The Daily Dot. 2017-01-04. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  12. Reilly, Nick (2018-08-22). "Tributes paid as 'LazyTown' actor Stefan Karl Stefansson dies, aged 43". NME. Archived from the original on 2018-08-22. Retrieved 2018-09-15.