Lady Gaga Responds to Joker 2 Backlash: 'Some Things Just Aren't Liked'

Pop music icon and actress Lady Gaga has recently broken her silence on the critical and public response to her latest film, Joker: Folie à Deux. Gaga, who took on the role of a more grounded Harley Quinn in this sequel, also released a companion album titled Harlequin. Despite months of quiet following the film's release, she shared her insights in an interview with Elle, reflecting on how she copes with negative feedback by setting realistic expectations.

"People just sometimes don’t like some things," Gaga remarked. "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."

Joker: Folie à Deux, a follow-up to Todd Phillips' monumental 2019 film, hit theaters last October but failed to impress both critics and audiences. It holds a disappointing 31% rating on Rotten Tomatoes across both critic and audience scores. Our own review rated it a 5/10, describing it as a "mediocre" film that squandered its potential as a musical, a courtroom drama, and a sequel lacking meaningful additions to the original Joker narrative. The movie's lackluster box office performance led to an early digital release, with Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav labeling its performance as "disappointing."

Gaga addressed the fear of failure, saying, "When that makes its way into your life, that can be hard to get control of. It’s part of the mayhem."

Despite the setback with Joker: Folie à Deux, Gaga is forging ahead with her music career. She announced her upcoming studio album, Mayhem, set to release this March, ending a five-year hiatus since her last album, Chromatica.

For further insights into Joker: Folie à Deux, explore why Quentin Tarantino says he loved the sequel and why Hideo Kojima believes the movie’s reception will change over time. You can also find our list of the biggest disappointments of 2024 here.