Jimmy Kimmel Criticized for Embarrassing Joaquin Phoenix With Awkward Joker Outtake, Making Fun of His Breakdancing

Over the last few weeks, the DC Comics movie Joker has been under a lot of scrutiny over how it depicts violence, with some critics claiming that its glorification could be misconstrued and inspire violent acts. But late night talkshow host Jimmy Kimmel has a very different criticism of the movie, and it's one that has brought a lot of fans coming to the defense of actor Joaquin Phoenix after his appearance on the show. Phoenix appeared on a last night when the host played a clip of Phoenix berating Joker cinematographer Lawrence Sher, putting him on the spot about what he was saying in the outtake.

In the clip, Phoenix is criticizing Sher until he gets to the point where he can't continue the scene, walking out of the frame.

"The constant whispering, just shut the f— up dude. I'm trying to like find something real. [ bleep ] dude. F—. Sorry, f—. It's not a big deal. It's not a big deal. Yeah, it kinda is. F—. I know you started the f— Cher thing, Larry. F—- ] making fun of me. Like I'm a f— diva. It's not even an insult. Cher, really? Singer, actor, dancer, fashion icon — how's that a f— insult? F— I can't do this, man."

Phoenix went on to apologize for his words after Kimmel played the clip.

"Look, sometimes, sometimes movies get intense, because you're a lot of people in a small space and you're trying to find something," Phoenix says. "So you can feel intense, but um, that was supposed to be private. I'm sorry you guys had to see that."

He added, "I am sorry, but he did whisper constantly while we're trying to work, and sometimes it's really hard to find the emotion you're after, so it was wrong of me, I'm sorry, but he shouldn't have done it."

Fans have come to Phoenix's defense, though it is curious how Kimmel came into possession with the clip of the unreleased movie's outtakes and why it was aired in this manner. Warner Bros. Pictures has possession of this footage, and it's weird that they would even send this footage to Kimmel to put their star actor on the spot amid all of the drama surrounding the film already.

Regardless, fans attacked Kimmel for his interview with Phoenix and how it played out. Read on to see what fans are saying about the interview.

Joker premieres in theaters this Friday, October 4th.