Do companies not vet potential employees before hiring them anymore?
It just happened recently when billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk, hired an ex-convict private investigator to dig up dirt on a hero that saved the lives of a soccer team who were stuck in a cave in Thailand.
And it happened again in “Joker” when they apparently used a track written by a convicted British pedophile in a pivotal scene.
“Joker” has already become one of the most controversial films ever made. It made $244 million at the international box-office in its first weekend and that means millions of people worldwide weren’t concerned with the potential threat of a mass shooter entering a theater to execute the audience.
But there was emphatically a state of paranoia surrounding the film.
On Sunday night in Los Angeles, there were two different false alarms. In a Long Beach theater, an audience self-evacuated because of a suspicious individual who turned out to be a non-threat when it was discovered he had no weapons on him. Across town, at the Sherman Oaks ArcLight, a popped balloon caused chaos when people mistook it for a gun firing.
Despite the obvious melancholic dreary subject matter of “Joker” where the central character, Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), descends into madness because the mentally ill man can’t gain empathy from society.
Now, it’s been discovered there is even more controversy as if to add it brick-by-brick like a Jenga set.
“Joker” uses a famous track by a musician named Gary Glitter who is currently incarcerated for a sixteen-year sentence for his conviction of sexually molesting three young girls.
And the kicker to it too is it’s not the first time he’s been convicted.
In 2006, Glitter served time for molesting young girls in Vietnam and in 1999 he was caught with child pornography as well. Glitter’s real name is Paul Gadd and likely changed it due to his horrific past.
If you didn’t see the film, you probably know the scene in which Glitter’s “Rock and Roll 2” was played. It’s the scene when Joker is dancing down the steps of a long staircase.
And if you don’t know that scene or if you haven’t seen the movie, you definitely know the song.
It’s this song.
Glitter’s past may not be known in the United States but in Britain, he’s for all intents and purpose, vilified.
U.K. audiences were reportedly shocked due to the use of the song. Did the filmmakers, Todd Phillips, know? Was it used intentionally?
One verified Twitter account noted, “I feel like “don’t involve Britain’s most notorious living pedophile in this movie” was an easy win but I guess not.”
Another person responded that Americans had no idea about Glitter’s past saying, “That song is played at every NFL stadium every weekend, pretty much. So no. They have no idea.”
Author Ian Douglas responded to an “allegations” post about Glitter with an epic response saying, “I don’t think your comb has to be particularly fine-toothed to snag on Gary Glitter. And going to prison is different to allegations.”
It’s more likely Phillips and the other producers had no idea about Glitter’s past. And even if they did, they probably just don’t care. The titular character is a psychopath after all.