Lady Gaga Defends 'Joker 2' Amid Criticism

Lady Gaga Addresses the Backlash Against 'Joker: Folie à Deux'

Pop icon and actress Lady Gaga has finally addressed the mixed reception to her recent film, Joker: Folie à Deux. Following its release, Gaga, who portrayed Harley Quinn, remained relatively silent, despite releasing a companion album, Harlequin. In a recent interview with Elle, she shared her perspective on the film's less-than-stellar critical and audience response.

Gaga explained that she navigated the negativity, as she does with any challenging release, by managing her expectations beforehand. She acknowledged that not everyone will appreciate a work of art, stating, “People just sometimes don’t like some things. It’s that simple. And I think to be an artist, you have to be willing for people to sometimes not like it. And you keep going even if something didn’t connect in the way that you intended.”

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Released last October, Joker: Folie à Deux, the sequel to Todd Phillips' 2019 hit, received underwhelming reviews, currently holding a 31% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Its theatrical run was short-lived, leading to a swift digital release. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav even described the film's performance as "disappointing."

Gaga acknowledged the challenges of dealing with such feedback, stating, “When that makes its way into your life, that can be hard to get control of. It’s part of the mayhem.”

Despite the mixed reception, Gaga is moving forward. Her new album, Mayhem, is slated for a March release, ending a five-year hiatus since Chromatica. For further perspectives on Joker: Folie à Deux, you can explore differing opinions from Quentin Tarantino and Hideo Kojima, and review our list of 2024's biggest cinematic disappointments.