Shortly after its release, Quentin Tarantino spoke out in defense of ‘Joker: Folie à Deux,’ saying he enjoyed the musical and praised Todd Phillips for taking a ‘Joker-like’ approach.
“He’s saying f*ck you to all of them,” the director shared. “He’s saying f*ck you to the movie audience. He’s saying f*ck you to Hollywood. He’s saying f*ck you to anybody who owns any stock at DC and Warner Brothers.”
Tarantino’s comments sparked online backlash from critics of the film, who mostly took issue with the elements in the movie he praised. He responded to the negative reactions during a recent episode of the ‘Joe Rogan Experience’ podcast.
“I go on a show and I say that I like ‘Joker 2.’ Now, there’s 150 articles on it,” the director said. “One person listens to the thing and writes an article about it and there’s 150 ripoff articles on that. And then you read the comments: ‘Quentin is a f*cking a**hole. That movie f*cking sucks. He’s a f*cking a**hole for saying that.’ Why am I a f*cking a**hole? I liked the f*cking movie! That makes me a f*cking a**hole? You either like the movie or you don’t.”
“I’m not plugging the movie. I’m not doing anything. I’m just saying I like it. Who gives a f*ck what I like? What do you care what the f*ck I like?”
The sequel to 2019’s ‘Joker,’ which grossed over $1 billion and ended up as the second highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, performed poorly at the box office. It earned only $206 million and received a 32% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The film, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, became available on digital platforms weeks after its October release. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment plans to release it on Blu-ray and DVD soon.
