Global pop superstar Lady Gaga has opened up about the intense backlash surrounding her film Joker: Folie à Deux, revealing how the wave of criticism took an emotional toll on her.
In an exclusive interview with Rolling Stone, the 39-year-old Poker Face singer confessed that she wasn’t as unfazed by the negative comments as fans might assume. “When it first started happening, I started laughing because it was just getting so unhinged,” Gaga said, recalling the early days of the online outrage.
In the Joker sequel, Gaga portrayed Lee Quinzel, a reimagined version of Harley Quinn, opposite Joaquin Phoenix’s dark and complex Joker. While the first Joker movie was a cultural phenomenon — grossing over $1 billion and winning multiple Oscars — the sequel failed to replicate its success. The film struggled at the box office and drew mixed to harsh reviews from both fans and critics.
Gaga admitted that although she initially brushed off the criticism, the sustained negativity began to hurt. “When it takes a while for something to kind of dissipate, that can be a little more painful,” she said. “Only because I put a lot of myself into it.”
Turning her frustration into creativity, Gaga revealed that the experience inspired her single Disease, written during what she called an “artistically rebellious” phase. “There was a ton of negativity around Joker, and I think I was feeling rebellious at the time,” she added.
Reflecting on the backlash, Gaga shared a message of resilience: “People just sometimes don’t like some things — and you keep going even if it didn’t connect the way you intended.”