According to a report from the New York Post, Joaquin Phoenix, the star of the critically acclaimed, Joker, has responded to claims that his recent successful movie might incite disenfranchised young men into mass shootings among other acts of violence.

The 44-year-old actor said to reporters from Vanity Fair that he “didn’t imagine” the movie would come out and be “smooth sailing.” Reportedly, the New York Police Department is additionally gearing up to “converge” on some of the screenings as it comes out in theaters this week.

Phoenix described Joker as a “difficult film,” and while it may be somewhat controversial, he’s glad it’s having a strong and emotional impact on some people. This came just two weeks after the United States Army supposedly claimed the movie might spur additional acts of violence.

Mr. Phoenix stated to Vanity Fair that he felt compelled to portray the Joker in such a way so as to empathize or sympathize with him. Joaquin claimed that it’s so easy for human beings to vilify others and think of them as evil or malevolent.

“It allows us to feel good if we can identify that as evil,” the actor stated. Joaquin went on to say that it was imperative for audiences and other viewers of the movie to explore or look into the villain so as to understand what’s going on in the human psyche.

On the other side of the aisle, Todd Philipps, the director of the movie, came out to say that it wasn’t their movie’s fault that the United States culture is supposedly in peril.

He said to reporters from the magazine that they were making a movie about a character in a non-existent world, and it’s up to the public to determine how they perceive it.

Advertisement

Mr. Philipps went on to argue that a person can’t simply blame the world’s problems in a movie. He claimed the movie wasn’t a call for people to act in a certain way, it’s merely a “self-reflection of society.”