Lady Gaga Calls Joker: Folie à Deux Backlash ‘Unhinged’ in New Interview

Lady Gaga described the harsh reaction to Joker: Folie à Deux as "unhinged," confessing that the criticism stung. The 39-year-old star acted opposite Joaquin Phoenix in the movie, playing Harley "Lee" Quinzel.

"I wasn't, like, unfazed," she said, according to Rolling Stone. "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."

Todd Phillips directed the sequel, which got a 31 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie pulled in only $58 million at domestic theaters, while the first one raked in $335 million across North America.

Her first reaction changed as attacks kept coming. "When it takes a while for something to kind of dissipate, that can be a little bit more painful," she said. "Only because I put a lot of myself into it."

The singer said she felt "artistically rebellious" when the backlash started. "There was a ton of negativity around Joker," she said, per Rolling Stone. "And I think I was feeling artistically rebellious at the time."

Those feelings shaped her single "Disease," which dropped after the movie's debut. She told the publication she poured her emotions into the music video.

Despite the film's rocky reception, she bounced back. Her seventh solo pop album, Mayhem, hit No. 1 on American charts in March and grabbed six GRAMMY nominations, including Album of the Year.