Lady Gaga makes savage dig at her own movie during SNL opening monologue

‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ was a critical failure and a box office bomb

Lady Gaga took a savage swipe at last year’s Joker: Folie à Deux during her opening monologue on last night’s (8 March) episode of Saturday Night Live.

Gaga, whose latest album Mayhem was released on Friday (7 March), appeared on the long-running US variety show as both host and musical guest.

Released last October, Folie à Deux was a sequel to the Oscar-winning 2019 film Joker, which starred Joaquin Phoenix as the iconic Batman villain. The sequel – a jukebox musical in which Gaga played Joker’s confidante Harley Quinn – was poorly received by critics, and was a notorious box office bomb.

Gaga, real name Stefani Germanotta, made reference to the film’s struggles during her hosting stint on SNL.

“I know you might be thinking I’m here to promote my album, Mayhem, but I’m actually here to remind you I’m an amazing actor,” she told the audience.

“I’m an actor now,” she said. “And I’ve been very diligent about selecting films that showcase my craft as a serious actor. Films such as Joker 2... apparently, people thought it was awesome.”

She mentioned the film’s recent success at the Razzies (Golden Raspberry Awards), an annual award ceremony which seeks to celebrate the “worst” movies of the year.

Lady Gaga on 'SNL' (NBC)

Joker 2 had taken home Razzie awards for Worst On-screen Duo (for Phoenix and Gaga) and Worst Sequel.

“Jokes on them, I love winning things,” Gaga continued in her SNL monologue. “My Razzie brings me one step closer to an Egort; it’s like an Egot, but it’s hurtful.”

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Actors who are said to have achieved “Egot” status have won four specific industry awards: an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award.

Wrapping up her monologue, Gaga aimed one last jibe at Folie à Deux, quipping: “I respect everyone here so much, so tonight, I promise to act, to sing and to not do Joker 3.”

While the film received largely damning reviews from critics, Folie à Deux did have its defenders, including the film director Quentin Tarantino.

“I went to see it expecting to be impressed by the film-making but I thought it was going to be an arms-length, intellectual exercise that ultimately I wouldn’t think worked like a movie, but that I would appreciate it for what it is. And I’m just nihilistic enough to kind of enjoy a movie that doesn’t quite work as a movie or that’s like a big, giant mess to some degree,” he said on Bret Easton Ellis’s podcast.

“And I didn’t find it an intellectual exercise. I really got caught up into it. [...] The Joker directed the movie,” continued Tarantino.

“The entire concept, even him spending the studio’s money – he’s spending it like the Joker would spend it, all right? … He’s saying f*** you to all of them. He’s saying f*** you to the movie audience. He’s saying f*** you to Hollywood.”