Lady Gaga addresses Joker 2 backlash: "People just sometimes don't like some things"

Joker: Folie À Deux Easter eggs — (Image credit: Warner Bros.)

Lady Gaga has broken her silence on the audience backlash to Joker: Folie à Deux.

Gaga, who played Harley 'Lee' Quinn in the sequel to 2019's Joker, said in an interview with Elle, "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."

While Gaga's work in the sequel – which includes several musical numbers alongside Joaquin Phoenix's Arthur Fleck – didn't draw the ire of critics, the film as a whole received a lukewarm response after a middling opening weekend at the box office.

Ending with a $207 million box office, considerably down on the $1.079 billion of the first movie, sections of the audience felt Folie à Deux's mean-spirited tone and Arthur's ultimate rejection of the Joker persona went against the core spirit of the first movie, as well as tarnishing its legacy.

"He's saying fuck you to all of them. He's saying fuck you to the movie audience," Tarantino said during about Joker: Folie à Deux during an appearance on the Bret Easton Ellis podcast. "He's saying fuck you to Hollywood. He's saying fuck you to anybody who owns any stock at DC and Warner Brothers… And Todd Phillips is the Joker.

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.