Gary Glitter, a convicted sexual predator, is being paid for his song’s appearance in Joker.
Gary Glitter, a convicted pedophile with numerous convictions, is set to receive a windfall of cash from Joker. Glitter’s 1972 song, “Rock and Roll Part 2,” played for about two minutes in the film, and reports indicate that Glitter will be compensated with a lump-sum payment plus other monetary consideration.
In light of Glitter’s considerable offenses, numerous sports stadiums, venues, and licensing agencies have banned the use of the singer’s music, particularly “Part 2”.
At the time of writing, Warner Bros. had not commented on the matter publicly. The ugly issue was first reported by CNBC journalist Sam Meredith, who started investigating after hearing the clip prominently played in the film. Meredith also questioned whether Glitter’s payments will also include a portion of the film’s gross, which is now in the hundreds of millions.
Glitter, whose real name is Paul Francis Gadd, rose to prominence after releasing “Rock and Roll Part 1” and “Rock and Roll Part 2” in 1972. Since then, the 75-year-old has sold more than 20 million records and has produced nearly 30 songs that topped the UK charts.
Despite this commercial success, Glitter has irrevocably tarnished his career and his image by being linked to all manner of charges relating to the sexual abuse of minors.
Glitter was first arrested for engaging in sexual activities with an underage female during the 1970s. In the late 1990s, Glitter was arrested for and found guilty of downloading over 4,000 sexually explicit images of underage females. He was kicked out of several countries for similar criminal offenses, and in 2006, a Vietnamese court sentenced him to three years behind bars.
Upon returning to his native UK (having been barred from entering most other countries), Glitter was sentenced to 16 years in jail for the sexual assault and attempted rape of minors.
The use of Glitter’s song in Joker has sparked a debate among fans. On one side of the argument, some believe that it was improper to feature the art of a convicted criminal, while those on the other side maintain that the man’s body of work should be judged independently of his legal infractions and reprehensible behavior.
Aside from this controversy, Joker has also courted its own controversy but has been well received by critics and fans. The Todd Phillips-directed film also shattered several box-office records, grossing nearly $250 million in its opening weekend.
As he should.
>Meredith also questioned whether Glitter’s payments will also include a portion of the film’s gross, which is now in the hundreds of millions.<
That's not how music licensing works which she could have learned with ten minutes of research.
Was going to say the same thing. Nobody gets a % of gross revenues. You MIGHT get a bump in fee upon certain metrics, but that’s fairly rare and usually only for very low budget films struggling to pay a normal upfront licensing fee.
We always support our own kind (i.e. pedophiles, rapists etc.)
— Hollywood