“It’s funny, I’m almost nervous to share my reaction,” the “Mayhem” Grammy nominee said.

Lady Gaga has a very Lady Gaga reaction to ‘unhinged’ *Joker: Folie á Deux *backlash

"It’s funny, I’m almost nervous to share my reaction," the "Mayhem" Grammy nominee said.

Joey Nolfi is a senior writer at *. *Since 2016, his work at EW includes *RuPaul's Drag Race* video interviews, Oscars predictions, and more.

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November 13, 2025 11:49 a.m. ET

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Lady Gaga in 'Joker: Folie a Deux'. Credit:

- Lady Gaga has revealed her *very* Lady Gaga reaction to *Joker: Folie á Deux* backlash.

- "It’s funny, I’m almost nervous to share my reaction," the *Mayhem* Grammy nominee said.**

- She additionally said reactions to the Todd Phillips-directed sequel were "unhinged."

Judging Lady Gaga's *very* Lady Gaga reaction to her latest blockbuster film's reviews, one might say the *Mayhem* Grammy nominee watched 2024's *Joker: Folie á Deux* die... with a smile.

The 39-year-old Oscar winner opened up in a new interview about the vicious fan reception to the highly anticipated Todd Phillips-directed DC Comics sequel, after the big-budget *Joker* continuation earned a 31 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and grossed $58 million at the domestic box office (following the first film's $335 million North American haul).

"There was a ton of negativity around *Joker,*” Gaga told *Rolling Stone* in a new cover story pegged to her seven Grammy nominations for both her *Mayhem* and *Harlequin* albums — the latter of which served as a soundtrack accompaniment to *Folie á Deux*.**

Lady Gaga as Harleen 'Lee' Quinzel in 'Joker: Folie a Deux'.

"I think I was feeling artistically rebellious at the time," Gaga continued, referencing the subsequent release of her *Mayhem* lead single "Disease" following *Folie á Deux'*s* *debut*.*

When asked if the reception for the film bothered her, the publication noted Gaga flashed a smile during her answer.

“I wasn’t, like, unfazed,” she said of criticism for the film, in which she starred opposite Joaquin Phoenix's Joker as famed DC villainess Harley Quinn (named Harley "Lee" Quinzel in the film). “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."

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She noted that the lighthearted reaction (as well as the film's sole positively received elements, including both her and Phoenix's performances) eventually faded, and that's when a specific breed of hurt set in over a film she poured a lot of creative energy into.

"When it takes a while for something to kind of dissipate, that can be a little bit more painful," Gaga continued. "Only because I put a lot of myself into it."

Gaga previously told ** that the character, who joins the Joker in spreading chaos across Gotham City in the musical-inspired sequel, took over her personal life in key ways.

"I wasn’t finished with this character when I was done making the movie. Creating her had a deeply profound effect on me. The way I prepare for things, Michael also got to know Lee pretty well, and it’s why we conceived of this project together," Gaga told EW of living with both the character and her fiancé, Michael Polansky, at the same time.**

Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix in 'Joker: Folie a Deux'.

Niko Tavernise/Warner Bros.

While many reacted negatively to the film — including *Taxi Driver* writer Paul Schrader and even *Folie á Deux* supporting actor Tim Dillon — filmmaker Quentin Tarantino praised the musical as a bold "'f--- you' to Hollywood" for defying expectations.

Despite* Folie á Deux*'s negative reviews, Gaga rebounded with music critics upon March's release of her seventh solo pop album *Mayhem*, which debuted at No. 1 on the American charts and scored six Grammy nods — including for Album of the Year.

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.***

"So much of what I did with 'Abracadabra' was about claiming music and imagery that's my own invention — meaning the combination of those things is my own invention, and I wanted to really own that for myself," Gaga previously told EW of crafting the album's third single, "Abracadabra," earlier this year. "As a woman in music, we're often told that someone else made us who we are or somehow it didn't come from us, that we were *made* that way. But this is who I am."

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Movies”