Well, this was a little awkward!
As you may recall, Joaquin Phoenix opened up a lot about how he lost 52 pounds while preparing for his role as Arthur Fleck in the hit 2019 film Joker. He put himself through a super strict diet to achieve the gaunt look of this unique take on the iconic comic book villain! He revealed he ate mainly lettuce and steamed vegetables! Damn!
And just like the first film, Joaquin shed a ton of weight for the sequel! He wasn’t the only one this time, though. Lady GaGa apparently also underwent a body transformation this time — which he praised her for during a Venice Film Festival press conference.
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On Wednesday, Joaquin wouldn’t go into detail about his diet this time around. However, he noted the process was “a bit more difficult” due to the dance element of Joker: Folie à Deux, saying:
“I’m not going to talk through specifics of the diet, because I just think nobody wants to hear that. But this time, it felt a bit more complicated just because there was so much dance rehearsal that we were doing, which I didn’t have last time. So it felt a bit more difficult, but it is safe. But you’re right, I’m now 49, I probably shouldn’t do this again. This is probably it for me.”
Fair enough! We don’t blame him for not wanting to put his body through that extreme weight loss plan again!
OK, but here’s where things get a little… precarious. Joaquin brought up GaGa, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta, and applauded her for losing “a lot of weight” to portray a new version of Harley Quinn in the movie. He said:
“Stefani also lost a lot of weight. I remember when I first met you in rehearsals and then you went away and when you came back, you lost a lot of weight. It was really impressive.”
Yeah, we’re sure it is really impressive… But here’s the problem with Joaquin praising GaGa’s weight loss. In the past, the singer has been very open about her eating disorders. She previously shared in 2013 that she had been battling bulimia and anorexia since she was 15 years old. Whether the Gladiator star knew about this or not is unknown, but it’s definitely uncomfortable to hear him gush about her weight loss — something that can be very triggering for people who struggle with an ED…
However, Lady GaGa handled the situation with grace! She thanked her co-star before simply adding:
“I think we transformed into our characters over a period of time and we continued to hone in every kind of detail.”
What a great response. Watch the press conference (below):
Thoughts, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments.
If you’re struggling with an eating disorder, there is help available. Consider visiting https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/ or call their hotline at (800)-931-2237 for resources.
[Image via Warner Bros. Pictures/YouTube, MEGA/WENN]
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