What to make of the "exclusive outtake" from the Joker which aired on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in front of a visibly uncomfortable Joaquin Phoenix?
First, let's unpack the outtake itself, which starts at 8:29 into the video above. In it, Phoenix embarks on a sweary rant that's directed at a crew member. "No, just like, the constant whispering, just shut the fuck up, dude. I'm trying to like, find something real," Phoenix says in the footage. More bleeped out curse words ensue before he apologises and says "it's not a big deal." Then Phoenix proceeds to mumble "it kind of is" as he tilts his head back and forth.
"You started the fucking Cher thing, Larry," he goes on. "It's not even an insult. Cher, really? Singer, actor, dancer, fashion icon — how is that a fucking insult?" More bleeped-out profanity ensues before he gets up and seems to storm off.
Um, OK. (He's right about Cher, though. Icon.)
In the video, Kimmel follows up with two questions that many of us have right now: "Now, what happened there? Who is Larry?"
"Um, um, yeah, Larry is the cinematographer. This is so embarrassing," Phoenix says, squirming. "Yeah look, sometimes movies get intense because you're a lot of people in a small space and you're trying to find something. So it can feel intense."
"But it was supposed to be private, I'm a little embarrassed, I'm sorry about that. Sorry you guys had to see that. It's not Larry's fault," he adds.
There's a chance the entire charade was a stunt orchestrated by Warner Bros., or even the famously stunt-prone Phoenix. There's also a chance that what we saw was real. Either way, it's pretty uncomfortable.
Update: Phoenix's publicist has told Entertainment Weekly that the video "was a joke outtake."
Topics Jimmy Kimmel Live
