Lady Gaga Defends 'Joker 2' Amid Backlash

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

Pop icon and actress Lady Gaga has finally addressed the mixed reception to her latest film, Joker: Folie à Deux. Following its release, Gaga, who played Harley Quinn, remained largely silent on the film's performance, despite releasing a companion album, Harlequin. In a recent interview with Elle, she revealed her perspective on the negative criticism.

Gaga shared that she navigated the negativity, as she does with any challenging project, by managing her expectations beforehand. She stated simply, "People just sometimes don’t like some things. 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' highly successful 2019 film, received underwhelming reviews from critics and audiences alike. Currently holding a 31% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the film's 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 less-than-stellar reception of Joker: Folie à Deux, Gaga is looking ahead. She recently announced the release of her new album, Mayhem, this March, ending a five-year wait since her previous album, Chromatica. For further perspectives on the film, you can read about Quentin Tarantino's positive reaction and Hideo Kojima's belief that its reception will evolve over time. You can also find a list of 2024's biggest cinematic disappointments [here](placeholder for link).