A disappointed Lady Gaga fan has apologised and insisted he is “not a bad person” after he was filmed ranting at theatre staff over his heroine’s omission from the film’s trailers.
Ethan Silver, 30, visited his local IFC Center theater in New York City expecting to see the latest promo for Joker 2 starring Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix.
But he lost his cool when the film didn’t show up and his request for a refund was denied. He started cursing and threatened to call the police on the box office staff.
An unobtrusive bystander filmed the exchange, and Silver was shocked to see his behavior go viral when it was posted on the fan site Gagadaily.com.
“I’m so embarrassed and sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused. I really hate that this is all over the internet,” he told DailyMail.com. “I just want to make it clear that I’m not a bad person.”
Lady Gaga fan Ethan Silver yelled at cashiers after watching trailer that omitted his heroin appearance in promo for Joker 2
The 30-year-old has said he is ashamed of his behavior and wants to apologize
The excitement surrounding ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ has been building since the first trailer was viewed 167 million times in the first 24 hours of its release in April, a record for a Warner Bros. film.
The latest trailer, which dropped last week, shows hero Arthur Fleck embracing Harley Quinn, played by Gaga. The trailer has already been viewed 23 million times on YouTube.
Silver says he’s not a movie fan, but wanted to see the trailer in a theater to “support Lady Gaga.”
He went to the movie theater on Sixth Avenue and asked for a ticket to “any movie,” expecting to see the trailer.
But the independent theater, which specializes in classic, independent and foreign films, did not have this film in its program.
“I watched a lot of trailers for crap movies that no one cared about, and it was annoying,” Silver said.
‘I thought I was entitled to my money back and I asked very politely at the cash register. Then suddenly I was filmed by a random guy on the street.’
The aspiring YouTuber was on the other side of the lens when he lost his patience with the uncooperative cashier.
“If you don’t give me my money back, I swear to God,” he stormed.
‘There’s 30 minutes of trailers. I wanted the Joker, I wanted to see Lady Gaga in the Joker trailer.
“Give me a f***ing… I’m calling the police.”
Lady Gaga stars as Harley Quinn alongside Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker, aka Arthur Fleck
The long-awaited trailer has already been viewed 23 million times on YouTube
Some film fans became sympathetic to his plight when the footage appeared on the Internet.
“Honestly, I was furious when my movie didn’t play the new trailer, but instead the teaser,” one person wrote.
“Bros has his priorities straight,” added another.
“Let me guess, they showed the Nicole Kidman trailer again, huh?” joked a third.
Others were less forgiving and Silver says he was hurt by the negative reactions.
“Lady Gaga says never read bad things about you, but people say horrible things about me,” he said.
‘They say I’m crazy, but I’m not, everyone loves me.
“It wasn’t me. Sorry to the person at IFC.”
Some fans were outraged when it was announced that the sequel to 2019’s Joker would be a musical, but others were excited at the prospect of the Poker Face singer joining Phoenix in a number of musical numbers.
She plays a fellow inmate at a psychiatric institution who enters into a deadly romantic relationship with the Joker. Casting director Francine Maisler promises an audience of film fans that she will “blow your mind.”
As their infatuation grows, Arthur’s deranged followers – who witnessed the murder of anchor Murray Franklin (Robert De Niro) in the first film – take to the streets, hoping he can wreak even more havoc on Gotham.
“I’ll tell you, (Gaga’s) film is really surprising and really good,” Maisler said last month at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic.
“I mean, we all knew what she could do in A Star Is Born, but I thought, ‘Oh, that’s her thing.’ Something she could do and still just be herself.”
Casting director Francine Maisler promised film fans that Gaga ‘will blow your mind’
The film will premiere at the 81st Venice International Film Festival before going into general release in the US on October 2.
“But this… Man, she’s good. Joaquin blows you away, but the fact that she was able to keep up with him and be real — and not just be swept off the screen by what the role is and what the performance is — shows that she’s good.”
Silver says he hasn’t even seen the first Joker movie, which grossed $1.079 billion, despite its relatively modest budget of $55 million.
The sequel will premiere at the 81st Venice International Film Festival and hit U.S. theaters on October 2.
Silver will be one of the first viewers and he is confident that his heroine will not hold his anger attacks against him.
“I think we’ll meet again someday and laugh about it,” he said.