Lady Gaga Addresses the Mixed Reception of 'Joker: Folie à Deux'

Pop icon and actress Lady Gaga has finally addressed the less-than-stellar reception to her latest film, Joker: Folie à Deux. Gaga, who portrayed Harley Quinn in the film and released a companion album, Harlequin, remained largely silent on the movie's performance following its October release. However, in a recent interview with Elle, she shared her perspective.

Gaga explained that she navigates negative feedback, as she does with any challenging release, 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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The sequel to Todd Phillips' 2019 hit received mixed reviews from critics and audiences, currently holding a 31% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Its theatrical run was short-lived, leading to a swift digital release and Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav labeling its performance "disappointing." Gaga acknowledged the difficulty of managing the fear of failure, 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 film's underperformance, Gaga is moving forward with the release of her new album, Mayhem, in March 2025, ending a five-year hiatus since Chromatica. For further perspectives on Joker: Folie à Deux, you can explore differing opinions from Quentin Tarantino and Hideo Kojima, and review our list of 2024's most underwhelming films.