Joker: Joaquin Phoenix Walks Out of Interview After Asked if Film Would Inspire Mass Shootings

Joker comes out next week, and with it has come a sudden wave of controversy with people fearing that the film could fuel the fire for future mass shootings. The issue isn't a mystery to the filmmakers, and apparently Joaquin Phoenix himself had walked out of an interview after being asked about the problem.

Phoenix was talking with The Telegraph when he was asked whether Joker would inspire people with "an unstable, self-pitying loner with a mass-shooter mindset." Phoenix apparently walked out of the interview, then came back after "an hour's peace-brokering with a Warner Bros PR," citing that he panicked because he had never been asked that question before.

While Phoenix never did get to answer the question for that interview, he did go on to tell IGN:

"Well, I think that, for most of us, you're able to tell the difference between right and wrong. And those that aren't are capable of interpreting anything in the way that they may want to. People misinterpret lyrics from songs. They misinterpret passages from books. So I don't think it's the responsibility of a filmmaker to teach the audience morality or the difference between right or wrong. I mean, to me, I think that that's obvious."

He also expands more a bit about the movie being ‘fuel' for potential mass-shooters, saying, "I think if you have somebody that has that level of emotional disturbance, they can find fuel anywhere. I just don't think that you can function that way."

If anything, I thought that having a film like Joker was interesting, seeing as it adds a new layer of gravitas to the comic book genre. Having to filter those movies out because it could influence some people, is kind of unfair. As director Todd Phillips has cited, why does John Wick, a movie about a guy going around killing hundreds of people, not put under the same scrutiny as something like Joker?

Catch Joker when it hits cinemas Oct. 4.

Read Also: Joker Director Blames Outrage Culture for the Controversy Surrounding the Film