Lady Gaga Reflects on “Unhinged” Criticism of ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ One Year Later

A year after the release of Joker: Folie à Deux, Lady Gaga has spoken out about the intense backlash she faced for her role as Harley Quinn.

The Oscar-winning singer and actress told Rolling Stone that the criticism felt “so unhinged,” and admitted it was “a little bit more painful” because the negative response lasted longer than she expected.

“There was a ton of negativity around Joker. And I think I was feeling artistically rebellious at the time,” Gaga said. “I wasn’t, like, unfazed. It’s funny, I’m almost nervous to share my reaction. But the truth is, when it first started happening, I started laughing. Because it was just getting so unhinged.”

The film, which currently holds a 31% rating for both critics and fans on Rotten Tomatoes, also received Golden Raspberry Awards for Worst Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel, and Worst Screen Combo for Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker. Reflecting on the experience, Gaga added, “When it takes a while for something to kind of dissipate, that can be a little bit more painful. Only because I put a lot of myself into it.”

Joker: Folie à Deux is a 2024 musical-legal drama directed by Todd Phillips, who co-wrote the screenplay with Scott Silver. The movie is a sequel to 2019’s Joker and stars Joaquin Phoenix reprising his role as Arthur Fleck, alongside Gaga as Harleen “Lee” Quinzel.

The story follows Arthur as he awaits trial at Arkham State Hospital, where he begins a romantic relationship with another inmate, Lee. The supporting cast includes Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Zazie Beetz, Steve Coogan, Harry Lawtey, and Leigh Gill.

Originally, Joker was intended as a standalone film, but its box office success led Warner Bros. to greenlight a sequel with more creative freedom and a larger budget. Gaga and Zazie Beetz joined the project later in 2022, and principal photography ran from December 2022 to April 2023 in New York City, Los Angeles, and Belleville, New Jersey.

The film premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on September 4, 2024, and was released in the U.S. on October 4. Despite the high-profile cast and production, the movie struggled at the box office, grossing $207.5 million worldwide against a $190–200 million budget.

In her interview, Gaga emphasized the personal effort she put into her performance, acknowledging how investing so much of herself made the negative response more difficult to handle.

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