Lady Gaga on the Negativity Surrounding Joker 2: 'People Just Sometimes Don't Like Some Things'

Lady Gaga Addresses 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 the film's release, Gaga, who portrayed Harley Quinn, remained largely silent on the matter. Her involvement extended to a companion album, Harlequin, further solidifying her commitment to the project. However, in a recent interview with Elle, she opened up about her experience navigating the negative feedback.

Gaga revealed that she coped with the criticism, as she does with any challenging release, by managing her expectations beforehand. She acknowledged that not everyone will appreciate an artist's work, emphasizing the importance of perseverance even when a project doesn't resonate as intended. "People just sometimes don’t like some things," she stated. "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, a sequel to Todd Phillips' 2019 blockbuster, received less-than-stellar reviews from critics and audiences alike. Its 31% rating on Rotten Tomatoes reflects this underwhelming reception. The film's theatrical run was short-lived, leading to a swift digital release and prompting Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav to label its performance "disappointing." Gaga acknowledged the difficulty of managing the fear of failure inherent in such circumstances, 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 response to Joker: Folie à Deux, Gaga is moving forward with the release of her new studio album, Mayhem, this March, concluding a five-year hiatus since Chromatica. For further perspectives on the film, you can explore opinions from Quentin Tarantino and Hideo Kojima, and review our list of 2024's biggest cinematic disappointments.