An audio snippet of Lady Gaga speaking to Joker in Joker: Folie à Deux has caused fans to argue over her distinct lack of New York accent.

Joker: Folie à Deux is due to release later this year, and with recent teasers revealing Lady Gaga speaking as DC’s Harley Quinn, fans are already fighting over her apparent lack of accent. Harley Quinn debuted in Batman: The Animated Series in 1992 and has since become one of DC’s most recognizable characters. This has given rise to a significant fan base that can seemingly be quite stringent about keeping Harley as true to her origins as possible, which includes her distinctive New York accent.

In an audio snippet posted by @DiscussingFilm on X/Twitter, it appears Lady Gaga’s take on the character avoids that accent entirely as she can be heard saying, “You can do anything you want. You’re Joker,” over the melodic sound of a harp.

This led to users like @harvv responding poorly to the fact that Gaga is using her “normal voice.”

Despite this, @folieadieux has posited that David Ayer’s take on Harley Quinn – namely, Margot Robbie’s – has already done “irreparable damage” to the character, while pointing out that a thick New York accent might diminish the tone of the movie.

@TheeDCstan responded by pointing out that the importance of Harley Quinn’s origins, where she was voiced by Arleen Sorkin using her natural voice, goes beyond David Ayer.

Meanwhile, fans like @7Sindel assert that they would prefer to have Margot Robbie, whose own take on the character did include an accent, reprising her role.

Others took aim instead at Gaga’s delivery of the line, with @mjarbo questioning whether Gaga’s Quinn is “starting an ASMR channel,” highlighting how Quinn is rarely seen as a calming presence.

While @leansalesman expressed their approval of the delivery by suggesting they’ll use the audio clip to help them fall asleep.

The response to Gaga’s lack of accent has prompted others like @fayerollypolly to point out that Joaquin Phoenix uses his “normal voice” for Joker, too, highlighting that holding Gaga to task is a double standard.

This has prompted @BobRossDad2 to retort that while this is OK for Joker, Harley Quinn is more beholden to her accent as a defining characteristic, even though most iterations of Joker in shows and movies have had a particularly distinctive and varied tone to them.

Is Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn Not Having An Accent Doing The Character A Disservice?

Joker 2 Is Already A Very Different Adaptation Of The Joker

Since she debuted in Batman: The Animated Series in 1992, Harley Quinn is a relatively new addition to DC Comics’ decades-old roster. Throughout that time, however, she has undergone multiple metamorphoses, with DC Comics’ “Harleys All the Way Down” having her break the fourth wall to address just how changeable she is compared to other DC characters depending on a comic book creator’s whims. With that in mind, having Harley Quinn take on a new guise in Joker: Folie à Deux is simply par for the course with the character.

It is also a standard that Todd Phillips’ Joker has already set, with a particularly unique take on the eponymous character being partly to thank for its inordinate success. Joker: Folie à Deux is compounding this by adapting Joker’s story into a musical, making it one of the most unique iterations of the iconic character ever seen. This gives plenty of room for Harley Quinn’s debut in the Elseworlds movie to divert significantly from her origins, with her relationship with Arthur Fleck’s Joker taking center stage instead of “comic-accurate” representation in Joker: Folie à Deux.

Source: Various (see above)