Fans who flocked to the Manhattan set of Joker: Folie à Deux this weekend to catch a glimpse of Lady Gaga got a little more than they bargained for when the singer locked lips with a female extra.
A sequel to director Todd Phillips’s divisive Academy Award-nominated 2019 supervillain origin story, Joker, the upcoming film is reportedly a musical that centers on the iconic Batman foe’s relationship with fellow criminal Harley Quinn (Gaga). After photos emerged of the singer in character over the weekend, a crowd of more than 50 admirers gathered near the steps outside the New York County Supreme Court where the film was shooting on Sunday, according to Vulture.
“My whole goal was to try and get her to sign my boob, and then I was going to get it tattooed if she did it. But I ended up getting way too in the moment,” said one fan who snuck onto the set the day before pretending to be an extra.
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The news you care about, reported on by the people who care about you.Sunday’s shoot involved some sort of protest, with extras dressed up as both fans of the Joker (played by Joaquin Phoenix) and detractors. At one point, Gaga’s character was reportedly being heckled by a woman holding a newspaper with bearing a photo of Harley Quinn under the headline “Crazy In Love.” Gaga grabbed the woman and planted a kiss on her lips.
“I wasn’t expecting her to kiss a lady onscreen,” one bystander told Vulture. “She’s f**king iconic! I’ve never seen something like that in my life.”
Of course, fans of the character know that in addition to being the Joker’s long-time love interest, Harley is canonically queer. HBO Max’s adult animated series Harley Quinn depicts the character (voiced by Kaley Cuoco) in a romantic relationship with BFF Poison Ivy (Lake Bell). It’s unclear how Harley’s queer identity will play into the Joker sequel, but the scene on the court steps seems to be a nod to it at least.
In a suitably bizarre twist, some onlookers confused the shoot for a real protest involving another notorious evil clown.
“I thought they were arresting Donald Trump,” a food-delivery worker said.
“It’s a New York moment: a real protest next to a fake protest for a film. We didn’t know which one the cops were here for,” another local said.
Apparently Gaga wasn’t fazed by any of the chaos. “She was so focused,” one extra said. “When she was walking down the stairs, you felt like she was in the zone. She wasn’t paying attention to anyone else.”
