Todd Phillips has explained why he cut Lady Gaga’s same-sex kiss scene from his new movie Joker: Folie à Deux.

While filming the Joker sequel in March 2023, the pop star was seen walking up courthouse steps and planting a kiss on a female protester.

Photos and videos of the moment were widely circulated online at the time, leading many to anticipate the scene in the movie. However, they were left disappointed when they discovered it had been cut from the final edit.

Phillips explained to Entertainment Weekly that the kiss no longer worked after he removed dialogue from the scene.

“It had dialogue in it, and, all of a sudden, I wanted it to be more of a music and vibe moment,” Phillips shared. “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.”

The Hangover director added that Gaga improvised the kiss that day.

The scene would have taken place when her character – a grittier version of Harley Quinn – attends the trial of Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck/Joker, who she is in love with.

The first Joker was a box office sensation when it was released in 2019, becoming the first R-rated film to gross over $1 billion.

The sequel, which is a movie musical, is unlikely to replicate that success. The film has been widely panned and has only grossed $114.8 million (£88 million) worldwide since its opening on Friday.

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