Lady Gaga just casually threw a curveball on the set of Joker: Folie à Deux that even the Joker himself didn’t see coming—and it didn’t make the final cut! Yes, in what can only be described as a “blink-and-you-missed-it-but-not-really-because-we’re-talking-about-it-anyway” moment, Mother Monster was caught locking lips with a female extra in some spicy paparazzi pics back in March 2023. But—plot twist!—when the final film rolled out, that steamy smooch was nowhere to be found. So, where did the kiss go? Into the black hole of cinema where cut scenes go to cry, apparently.
Cue Joker director Todd Phillips, who’s here to explain why Gaga’s impromptu make-out sesh didn’t survive the editing room. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Todd admitted that the same-sex kiss was as spontaneous as Gaga’s meat dress—totally unscripted. “It had dialogue in it,” he said, like that explained everything. Then came the kicker: “All of a sudden, I wanted it to be more of a music and vibe moment.” Ah yes, because nothing screams “vibe” like Gaga going rogue with her lips.
He elaborated with this cryptic cinematic wisdom: “For that moment to have played, it needed dialogue behind it. Meaning, the woman said something, and then Gaga stopped and did this thing, and it just kind of got in the way of the moment.” In the way of the moment? Sir, are you suggesting Lady Gaga herself is an obstacle to any moment? That’s like saying rain is a problem for a rainbow!
But wait, there’s more! Todd dropped another bombshell during his chat with The Hollywood Reporter—apparently, Gaga signed up for this rollercoaster without even seeing a finished script! That’s right, she’s such a legend she didn’t need to know what she was getting into. Todd recalled, “I think we sent her half the script, and she texted me pretty quickly that she was really into it, that she loved it, and everything you want to hear.” Oh, you know, the usual—just casually agreeing to star in a film based on half a script. Who even needs plot details when you’re Lady Gaga?
Then, in true we’ll-make-it-up-as-we-go fashion, Todd revealed, “I went out to her house, and we met about what it was going to be, the rest of it, because we hadn’t written it yet.” Translation: “We didn’t know what was happening, but Gaga said ‘yes,’ so we just rolled with it.”
And that is how an unscripted kiss, an unfinished script, and Lady Gaga’s fearless improvisation created a moment too powerful for the final cut—but not too powerful for the tabloids!
