Lady Gaga Got into a Lot of Arguments on the Set of Joker 2 For One Sole Reason

Lady Gaga is the latest entry in the roster of actresses who have played Harley Quinn, and as one would expect, she does it the Gaga way. Her version of Harley, or Lee- as they are addressing the character, is much more nuanced, tragic, and grounded than what fans got used to with Margot Robbie’s portrayal.

Joker 2 explores Lee’s relationship with Joker. As the movie’s subtitle Folie à Deux suggests, the lovers will probably share a mutual psychological breakdown with Arthur Fleck. So, there will be as much madness as love. One question that arises in all of this is what kind of love she has for Joker. This was something regarding which Gaga had arguments with others involved in the film’s making.

Lady Gaga Had Arguments on Joker 2 Set Over Whether or Not Lee Loves Arthur Fleck

Besides being one of the best-selling artists in the world, Lady Gaga is also a great actress. She ventured into acting in 2013 and has since given award-winning performances in the miniseries American Horror Story and A Star is Born. Now, she is gracing the big screens as the live-action version of the popular DC character Harley Quinn in Joker: Folie à Deux.

This is the follow-up to the award-winning and high-grossing movie Joker, released in 2019. While Joaquin Phoenix returns to reprise his role as the titular character, he is also joined by Gaga’s iteration of Lee. It is abundantly clear now that Lee is madly in love with Joker, but what is her love really like?

Luckily, the Bad Romance singer answered the question during an interview with ABC10‘s Mark S. Allen. She said:

I really thought a lot about empathy and compassion, and we argued a lot on set about this. You know, there was a lot of discussion around how she loved Joker. And I always, as you know, bring in the perspective of a woman, I always was saying, “No, she loves Arthur too.” And I think her empathy and love for Arthur was real.

She also clarified that Lee’s love for Joker is even more dangerous than her striking a match alight. It is so because her love for Joker wins over her love for Arthur which means that she does her best to bring Joker out of Arthur.

Lady Gaga Is Confident That Lee’s Love for Joker is All-consuming

Lee and Joker’s love story seems a lot like an ordinary girl who falls for the bad guy. The only difference is that usually, the girl would try to fix the bad guy, but as we know both Lee and this story is extraordinary. In fact, she would do anything to have Joker over Arthur.

Gaga confirmed as much during an interview with IGN in which she gave a detailed insight into who Lee is and what Joker means to her.

Lee would do, say, act, behave in any way that she needed to get his attention, to keep him, to be close to him. I think what she craves more than anything is Joker. I think this entire film, she is doing everything she can to pull Joker out of Arthur Fleck. That created this really interesting look into her life and her psyche. 

The Die with a Smile singer further said that Lee is always looking for Joker. The movie explores her unique perspective and feelings towards this extremely nuanced character, Joker.

Joker 2 will be in theatres from October 4, 2024.