Convicted sex offender Gary Glitter thankfully won’t get royalties the use of one of his songs in Joker. The recently released, highly anticipated Todd Phillips film has had no shortage of rave reviews as of late, but controversy has also followed it every step of the way.
Joaquin Phoenix, who plays the film’s lead role of Arthur Fleck/the Joker, performed by convicted pedophile, Gary Glitter.
The song, Rock n’ Roll Part 2, set off an ample amount of concern and criticism as many took its inclusion in the film to mean that Glitter (who's currently serving a 16-year prison sentence), would be collecting royalties for its use. Some even took to calling for a boycott of Joker, citing the dubious moral proposition of financially aiding a convicted sex offender by seeing the film. The L.A. Times, however, has now reported that Glitter will see no royalties from the film, and that those concerned about ing the imprisoned former pop star by going to see Joker need not worry. Said a spokesman for Snapper Music – the U.K. company that holds the legal rights to Glitter’s master recordings: “Gary Glitter does not get paid. We’ve had no with him.” As for the U.S., rights holder Universal Media Publishing Group made a similar statement: "Gary Glitter’s publishing interest in the copyright of his songs is owned by UMPG and other parties, therefore UMPG does not pay him any royalties or other considerations."
The recent controversy surrounding the film stems from when Rock n’ Roll Part 2 is played while Phoenix dances down a staircase, adorned in full clown make-up. The song has had a lengthy history prior to its inclusion in Joker, having also been included in such notable Hollywood hits as Meet the Fockers, Joker can’t seem to do anything without receiving stern moral judgement.
Still, for all its problems and obstacles along the way, Joker’s success doesn’t appear to have been hindered in the least. The film is well on its way to becoming one of the biggest hits of 2019, and while Oscar nominations certainly aren’t guaranteed, Phoenix has managed to captivate as well as polarize audiences to such a degree that it’s clear there’s really something to his performance. Hopefully, the inclusion of Glitter’s song is the last controversy that will be foisted upon Joker, but given its rather dark subject matter and history, that might be asking too much.
Source: L.A. Times
