‘Joker’ Star Joaquin Phoenix Walks Out Of Interview Following Controversial Question

Joaquin Phoenix Joker Todd Phillips Oscar

Joker star Joaquin Phoenix walked out of an interview with The Telegraph after being asked if the film could have negative consequences in real life.

Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Joker has been receiving critical acclaim ever since it premiered at the Venice Film Festival and its subsequent screening at the Toronto International Film Festival. Critics have praised the film for being a mature and gritty take on a troubled character, with themes focusing on mental health, capitalism and poverty. However, there has been a huge outpour of negative feedback towards Joker. Many critics believe that the film will be seen by troubled individuals and will lead to them being empowered, resulting in negative real life consequences, such as violence.

This has been a recurring theme regarding the larger discourse surrounding Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker, and now it appears that he has an answer towards such a mindset. When speaking with Joaquin Phoenix, The Telegraph asked the star if he believed that certain parts of the film “might perversely end up inspiring exactly the kind of people it’s about, with potentially tragic results.”

Joaquin Phoenix looked puzzled and questioned the interviewer regarding the purpose of this question. Then, the Joker star walked out of the interview. Warner Bros.’ PR team came to the rescue and got Joaquin Phoenix back into the hot seat, and he indirectly answered the question by replying how he had never considered such an idea.

Obviously, the worries certain people have are valid, but it’s hard to imagine that such a drastic, exaggerated film about a character who wears clown-makeup could end up being so troubling. Beyond that, the film most likely comes off as a cautionary-tale about how bad things could get if we don’t help each other out.

What do you think about Joaquin Phoenix walking out of the Joker interview? Let us know in the comments section!

Here is the official synopsis for Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker:

Director Todd Phillips “Joker” centers around the iconic arch nemesis and is an original, standalone fictional story not seen before on the big screen. Phillips’ exploration of Arthur Fleck, who is indelibly portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix, is of a man struggling to find his way in Gotham’s fractured society. A clown-for-hire by day, he aspires to be a stand-up comic at night… But finds the joke always seems to be on him. Caught in a cyclical existence between apathy and cruelty, Arthur makes one bad decision that brings about a chain reaction of escalating events in this gritty character study.

Directed by Todd Phillips from a script he co-wrote with Scott Silver, Joker stars Joaquin Phoenix, Zazie Beetz, Bill Camp, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Glenn Fleshler, Douglas Hodge, Marc Maron, Josh Pais, and Shea Whigham.

Joker will be released in theaters on October 4, 2019. Stay tuned for the latest news on the movie!

Source: The Telegraph